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PRENATAL CARE
There were 4,025,933 births in the
U.S. in 2001. Of the women giving birth, 83.4 percent began
prenatal care in the first
trimester of pregnancy, increasing slightly from the 2000
rate. This figure has risen 10 percent since 1989, when
75.5 percent of women received early prenatal care.
Racial
and ethnic variations exist in receiving early prenatal
care. In 2001, 88.5 percent of non-Hispanic White women
and 84.0 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander women received
early
prenatal care compared to 74.5 percent of non-Hispanic
Black, 75.7 percent of Hispanic, and 69.3 percent of
American Indian/Alaska
Native women. The proportion of non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic,
and American Indian/Alaska Native women receiving early
prenatal care increased by 20-26 percent between 1990
and 2001.
The percentage of women beginning prenatal care
in the third trimester or going without prenatal care
dropped from 6.4
percent in 1989 to 3.7 percent in 2001. However, non-Hispanic
Black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native women
were 2.7 to 3.7 times more likely to begin care late
or to receive
no prenatal care than non-Hispanic White women in 2001.
Overall, almost 42,000 women received no prenatal care.
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