Does Location of Residence Effect Access to Early Prenatal Care

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the findings of a study to identify personal and system barriers to early prenatal care, and to identify factors that influence or discourage women from entering care within the first trimester by location of residence. The study subjects come from four counties in central New York State. The counties represent urban, suburban and rural areas.

The study answered the following three questions:

• Are the demographics of women who enter care later than the first trimester (age, race, ethnic background, education, and socio-economic factors) different among rural, suburban or urban women?

• How do rural women access the current system compared to their urban and suburban counterparts?

• Are the system and personal barriers to accessing services and entering care different for rural women compared to those from suburban and urban women?

The study reviewed Electronic Birth Certificate data files in order to determine if entry into care patterns will identify women at greatest risk for not accessing prenatal care during the first trimester. The findings of this study will assist policy makers in New York State to design programs to reduce personal and system barriers to early prenatal care based on location of residence.