Indicator: Prenatal Care

Priority or Priorities: Early childhood development
Initiative(s): Task force on early childhood/early childhood systems initiative
Outcome (s): Families living safe and healthy lives

Why This is Important

Early prenatal care allows women and their health care providers to identify and, when possible, treat or correct health problems and health-compromising behaviors that can be particularly damaging during the initial stages of the baby’s development. Increasing the percentage of women that receive prenatal care can improve birth outcomes and lower health care costs by reducing the likelihood of complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Where We Stand

In 1990, 84.2% of all women in Maine received prenatal care in their first trimester of pregnancy. For 2006, this indicator was at 87%, somewhat better than the national percentage and relatively consistent for the last 10 years. The percentage of Maine teens receiving such care was typically about 10% lower than the overall rate from 1995 to 2006.

Data Source and Context

The Maine data source for this indicator is the Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, Bureau of Health, Maine Department of Health and Human Services. National statistics come from the final births data reports put out annually by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (online at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/prenatal.htm).