Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data

TL;DR

This study explores factors like education and insurance that influence whether women receive early prenatal care.

Contribution

The study identifies maternal education as the strongest predictor of first-trimester prenatal care access.

Findings

89.3% of women in the sample received first-trimester prenatal care.

Higher maternal education significantly increased odds of early prenatal care (aOR 4.23 for post-high school education).

Private insurance, prior healthcare visits, and WIC receipt were positively associated with early prenatal care.

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed sociodemographic, health-seeking and social services related factors associated with first-trimester prenatal care. Study Design: This cross-sectional study used Phase 8 pooled data from the Kentucky Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) for 2017 to 2020 and 2022. A logistic regression model was used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Among the 3502 women in the analytic sample, 89.3% had first-trimester prenatal care. Most respondents were White (weighted percentage, 83.3%), between the ages of 25 and 29 (31.2%), had more than a high school education (59.5%), were married (59.8%), lived in an urban area (59.4%), and had public insurance (53.9%). Maternal education was associated with the highest odds of first-trimester prenatal care, relative to other covariates, and was highest among those who completed more than high school (aOR 4.23, 95% CI 2.72–6.59) and high school (aOR 3.09, 95% CI 2.06–4.64) relative to less than high school. Private insurance, having a healthcare visit one year prior to pregnancy, and WIC receipt during pregnancy were associated with higher odds of first-trimester prenatal care. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that sociodemographic factors and access to healthcare and social services are important factors in first-trimester prenatal care.