Forty low-income pregnant women were interviewed about the personal, family, and provider rewards and costs they experienced in obtaining prenatal care. The women identified important rewards as the health of their babies, their own health, partner's desire for a healthy baby, monitoring of the pregnancy by qualified healthcare personnel, and the evaluation of problems by health-care providers. The authors suggest strategies to strengthen personal, family, and provider rewards aimed at achieving a high level of prenatal care for low-income women.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AhmedR.McRaeJ. A., & AhmedN. (1990). Factors associated with not receiving adequate prenatal care in an urban black population: Program planning implications. Social Work in Health Care, 14(3), 107–123.
2.
BrownS. (1988). Prenatal care: Reaching mothers, reaching infants.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
3.
BrownS. (1989). Drawing women into prenatal care. Family Planning Perspectives, 21, 73–80, 88.
4.
CooneyJ. P. (1985). What determines the start of prenatal care: Prenatal care, insurance and education. Medical Care, 23, 986–997.
5.
CurryM. A. (1989). Nonfinancial barriers to prenatal care. Women and Health, 15(3), 85–99.
6.
GoldR. B.KenneyA. M., & SinghS. (1987). Paying for maternity care in the United States. Family Planning Perspectives, 19, 190–206.
7.
Government Accounting Office. (1987). Prenatal care: Medicaid recipients and uninsured women obtain insufficient care (GAO/HDR-87-137). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
8.
HughesD.JohnsonK.RosenbaumS.SimonsJ., & ButlerE. (1988). The health of America's children: Maternal and child health data book.Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund.
9.
Institute of Medicine. (1985). Preventing low birthweight.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
10.
KalmussD., & FennellyK. (1990). Barriers to prenatal care among low-income women in New York City. Family Planning Perspectives, 22, 215–218, 231.
11.
KruseJ.SweigS., & LeFevreM. (1988). Health locus of control and behaviors related to pregnancy. Family Medicine, 20, 422–425.
12.
LeathermanJ.BlackburnD., & DavidhizarR. (1990). How postpartum women explain their lack of obtaining prenatal care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 256–267.
13.
Lia-HoagbergB.RodeP.SkovholtC. J.ObergC. N.BergC.MullettS., & ChoiT. (1990). Barriers and motivators to prenatal care among low-income women. Social Science and Medicine, 30, 487–495.
14.
McDonaldT. P., & CoburnA. F. (1988). Predictors of prenatal care utilization. Social Science and Medicine, 27, 167–172.
15.
NyeF. I. (1979). Choice, exchange, and the family. In BurrW. R.HillR.NyeF. I., & ReissI. L. (Eds.), Contemporary theories about the family: Volume 2. General theories/theoretical orientations (pp. 1–41). New York: Free Press.
16.
ObergC. N.Lia-HoagbergB.HodkinsonE.SkovholtC., & VanmanR. (1990). Healthy insurance status and the use of prenatal care. Public Health Reports, 105, 533–535.
17.
ObergC. N.Lia-HoagbergB.SkovholtC.HodkinsonE., & VanmanR. (1991). Prenatal care use and health insurance status. Journal of Health Care for Poor and Underserved, 270–292.
18.
PattersonE. T.FreeseM. P., & GoldenbergR. L. (1990). Seeking safe passage: Utilizing health care during pregnancy. Image, 22(1), 27–31.
19.
PolandM. L.AgerJ. W., & OlsonJ. M. (1987). Barriers to receiving adequate prenatal care. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 157, 297–303.
20.
ReidM., & GarciaJ. (1989). Women's views of care during pregnancy and childbirth. In ChalmersI.EakinM., & KeirseM. (Eds.), Effective care in pregnancy and childbirth (pp. 131–142). New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
St. ClairP. A.SmeriglioV. L.AlexanderC. S.ConnellF. A., & NiebylJ. R. (1990). Situational and financial barriers to prenatal care in a sample of low-income inner-city women. Public Health Reports, 105, 264–267.
22.
YoungC. L.McMahonJ. E.BowmanV. M., & ThompsonD. S. (1990). Psychosocial concerns of women who delay prenatal care. Families in Society, 71, 408–414.
