Data Provider: NYS Department of Health
Physical and Emotional Health
Early prenatal care is defined as pregnancy-related health care received by the mother in the first three months (first trimester) of her pregnancy. The percent of early prenatal care births is calculated by dividing the number of births that benefited from early prenatal care by the total number of births where the first month of prenatal care was known. Rates are presented for births to women of all ages and for the age group 10 through 19 years.
Late or no prenatal care is defined as pregnancy-related health care first received by the mother in the last three months (third trimester) of her pregnancy, or not at all during the pregnancy. The percent of late or no prenatal care births is calculated by dividing the number of births that received late or no prenatal care by the total number of births where the first month of prenatal care was known.
Early, high-quality prenatal care can help to prevent poor birth outcomes by enabling early identification and, where possible, treatment of health problems. Such care can also provide an opportunity to educate or counsel pregnant women about the adverse effects of behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use that increase their risk of poor outcomes for their baby. Such preventive measures as nutrition counseling and HIV testing can have important long-term effects on the health and well-being of the baby (National Center for Health Statistics, 1996).
Receiving late or no prenatal care during a pregnancy can result in negative health outcomes for both the mother and the child. Women who receive late or no prenatal care are at a much higher risk of bearing a child who is of low birthweight, stillborn, or who dies within the first year of life. Teenagers are especially at risk.
Healthy People 2020 objectives seek to increase the proportion of all pregnant women who receive early and adequate prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy to at least 77.9 percent (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020, MICH-10.1).
National Center for Health Statistics. (1996). Healthy People 2000 Review 1995-96. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. Healthy People 2010 (Conference Edition in Two Volumes), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Osterman MJK, Martin JA, Menacker F. Expanded health data from the new birth certificate, 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 58 no 5. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009.