Prenatal Care

Study the varied ways that pregnant women receive prenatal care. Select a country (NOT the United States) and, through research and inquiry, answer all of the following questions:  Provide as much information that you can find in your own words.  No copying and pasting from websites.

*Be creative in your country choice.  Pick a country you know very little about?

In 2012, a study was published in Prenatal Diagnosis entitled ” Prenatal Care Utilization and Discontinuation Among Pregnant Women on the Eve of Medicaid Expansion”. [1]

The study aimed to determine whether prenatal care utilization and discontinuations changed after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect on January 1, 2014. [1] The authors compared women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 2009 and 2011 (pre-ACA) vs. post-ACA (2012–13). [1] The authors hypothesized that prenatal care rates would significantly increase after ACA due to several factors: increasing insurance coverage; increased access to routine health providers; and current guidelines for prenatal care. [1] Data were obtained from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) which is a multi-state surveillance project that monitors maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy. [1]

Results indicated prenatal care utilization increased from 70% in 2009 to 75.3% in 2012–13. [1] Prenatal care discontinuation rates were 5.5% pre-ACA vs 3.6% post-ACA which was not statistically significant. [1] Prenatal visits also increased for women with verified Medicaid/WIC eligibility on PRAMS surveys by six visits pre-ACA to 11 visits post-ACA while there was no change among women with private insurance or uninsured women who delivered pre-vs post-ACA, respectively.

What kind of prenatal care do women receive and who delivers that care?

Where do women give birth?

Who usually attends a birth?

Are there any religious rituals that are typical for childbirth?

Are there any social rituals that accompany birth?

Do most women breastfeed or bottle feed their babies?

Do poor women have the same kind of access to prenatal and birthing care that wealthy women do?

Are there any particularly interesting or unique features to prenatal care in the country you have chosen?