Early prenatal care, considered best for moms and babies, is on the decline in the US
ABC News
Early prenatal care improves the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby
Early prenatal care improves the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby. But a new federal report shows it’s been on the decline.
The share of U.S. births to women who began prenatal care in the first trimester dropped from 78.3% in 2021 to 75.5% in 2024, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.
Meanwhile, starting care later in pregnancy or getting no care at all has been on the rise. Prenatal care beginning in the second trimester rose from 15.4% to 17.3%, and starting care in the third trimester or getting no care went from 6.3% to 7.3%.
“We know that early engagement in prenatal care is linked to better overall health outcomes,” said Dr. Clayton Alfonso, an OB-GYN at Duke University in North Carolina. When patients delay medical care during pregnancy, “we’ve missed that window to optimize both fetal and maternal care.”
While the trend identified in the report held for nearly all racial and ethnic groups, the decrease in early prenatal care was higher for moms in minority groups. For example, first-trimester care dropped from 69.7% in 2021 to 65.1% in 2024 for Black mothers. Getting late or no prenatal care raises the risk of maternal mortality, which is much higher among Black mothers.
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