Prenatal Care

Prenatal care refers to pregnancy-related healthcare. Prenatal care services typically include screening and treatment of medical conditions for both moms and babies and interventions for behavioral risk factors associated with poor birth outcomes (e.g. smoking, poor nutrition). Prenatal care is most effective when it is initiated early in the pregnancy and is continued consistently.

Assessment of the appropriateness of prenatal care obtained during pregnancy can be measured in different ways. PeriStats provides data on:

• The timing of the first prenatal care visit; that is, when prenatal care is first initiated during the pregnancy.
• Adequacy of prenatal care, which assesses both the timing of the first prenatal care visit, and the frequency of visits throughout the entire pregnancy adjusted for the infant's gestational age.

Healthy People 2030 aims to increase the proportion of pregnant women who receive early and adequate prenatal care to 80.5 percent of the population.

1. Healthy People 2030. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Available at: https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/pregnancy-and-childbirth/increase-proportion-pregnant-women-who-receive-early-and-adequate-prenatal-care-mich-08