Important Facts for Prenatal care

Definition

Number of infants born to pregnant women receiving prenatal care in the first trimester as a percentage of the total number of live births.

Numerator

Number of infants born to pregnant women receiving prenatal care in the first trimester.

Denominator

Number of live births.

Data Interpretation Issues

Utah prenatal care reporting is not comparable to the U.S. between the 1989 and 2003 revisions of the birth certificate due to wording and format changes. Utah adopted the 2003 U.S. revision to the birth certificate in 2009. The U.S. began reporting U.S. rates of first trimester prenatal care in 2016.

Why Is This Important?

Women who receive early and consistent prenatal care (PNC) enhance their likelihood of giving birth to a healthy child. Healthcare providers recommend that women begin prenatal care in the first trimester of their pregnancy.

Other Objectives

Healthy People 2030 has an objective of Increasing the proportion of pregnant women who receive early and adequate prenatal care--MICH-08 with a baseline of 76.4% (2018) and a goal of 80.5%.

How Are We Doing?

The percentage of women entering prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy reached a 15-year low of 71.1% in 2023. The highest reported percentage since 2009 was 77.1% in 2021.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The National Center for Health Statistics began reporting U.S. rates of first trimester prenatal care in 2016. Among women giving birth in the U.S. in 2023, 76.1% began prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, compared to 71.1% in Utah that same year.

What Is Being Done?

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services Baby Your Baby Program sponsors a statewide media campaign and provides information and referral services to pregnant women in Utah. MotherToBaby (formerly Pregnancy Risk Line) is a phone service available to pregnant women, the public, and health care providers who have questions about possible effects of medications, chemicals, or infectious agents on a developing baby or breastfed infant. MotherToBaby can be reached by both phone calls or text messaging. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) collects and analyzes data to identify characteristics of Utah women and their utilization of prenatal care. The Maternal and Infant Health Program will utilize these data to target interventions in those populations identified as having poor first trimester entry.

Health Program Information

Early entry into prenatal care for women with limited financial resources is facilitated by the Division of Integrated Healthcare's Presumptive Eligibility for Prenatal Medicaid Program - also known as the Baby Your Baby Program. Applicants are screened via a brief application and those meeting the program's eligibility requirements are able to receive a medical card that will provide temporary coverage in order to allow them to begin prenatal care from any willing Medicaid provider in Utah. During the time the woman has temporary coverage, she completes the Medicaid Application. The Baby Your Baby Program acts as a bridge into Prenatal Medicaid and allows women to start their prenatal care in a timely manner.