HRSA Study Finds Narrowing Racial Gap
in Women's Use of Prenatal Care

Racial disparities in prenatal care use between most African American and white women in the United States have decreased dramatically over the past two decades, according to a new study supported by HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

“This research shows that our work to get more women into prenatal care is paying off.  While we still have a way to go, especially with young women, this study proves that we’re moving in the right direction,” says HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.

Titled “Racial Differences in Prenatal Care Use in the United States: Are the Disparities Decreasing?” and published in December’s American Journal of Public Health, the study used all U.S. birth records from 1981 to 1998 to explore trends in early and adequate prenatal care use for both racial groups.  University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Greg Alexander, Sc.D., and HRSA researcher Michael Kogan, Ph.D., conducted the study, which also looked at trends among young and unmarried women, and women with less education.

Over the 18-year study period, the percentage of pregnant African American women who received adequate prenatal care -- as measured by the month care began and the number of prenatal visits in the first trimester -- rose from 26.9 percent to 44.0 percent, an improvement of 64 percent. Among white women, the percentage receiving adequate prenatal care rose from 33.6 percent to 50.2 percent, a 50 percent increase.  Overall, the racial gap in adequate care use has narrowed steadily since the 1980s, but the study revealed that the gap is actually widening among white and African American mothers 17 years of age and younger.

The study also found that:

• the percentage of women who began care in the first trimester increased from 61.1 percent in 1981 to 72.8 percent in 1998 for African Americans, a rise of 19 percent, while the percentage of white women who began first trimester care rose from 80.1 in 1981 to 84.8 percent in 1998, an increase of 6 percent; and

• the percentage of births among mothers 17 and under with less than 12 years of education has decreased in both racial groups, while the percentage of births among unmarried women of both races has increased during the time span of the study.

For more information on prenatal care and women’s health programs, visit www.mchb.hrsa.gov.

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