Predisposing Individual Characteristics and Perinatal Outcomes of Women in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Who Initiate Prenatal Care Late in Their Pregnancy: A Case-Control Study

Jun Kakogawa,Miyuki Sadatsuki,Takuro Simbo,Takeji Matsushita

doi:10.5402/2012/945628

Jun Kakogawa, Miyuki Sadatsuki + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/945628

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Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the individual characteristics and perinatal outcomes of women who initiate prenatal care late in their pregnancy in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Methods. Retrospective study. The study enrolled all women at our hospital who initiated prenatal care after 22 weeks of gestation (late attenders) and control women who initiated prenatal care prior to 11 weeks of gestation participated in the study at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine between January 1, 2007 and June 30, 2011. We compared the maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes of late attenders with those of the control group. Results. A total of 121 late attenders and 1,787 controls were enrolled. Late attenders had a higher incidence of unmarried compared with the control group (P < 0.01). There were no differences in the incidence of preterm delivery and low birth weight; however, babies of the late attenders had a higher incidence of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Conclusions. Our results indicate that there is a pressing need for further steps to promote the importance of receiving prenatal care during pregnancy.

Highlights

Prenatal care (PNC) is a widely used preventive health service, and it is recognized as being important for the health of pregnant women and their babies
The late attenders were more likely to have an unmarried status, a history of divorce, no relationship with the child’s father, and a history of cigarette smoking and/or alcohol consumption compared to the control group (P < 0.01)
We found that 5.4% of women in the metropolitan area of Tokyo initiated PNC after 22 weeks of gestation

Summary

Introduction

Prenatal care (PNC) is a widely used preventive health service, and it is recognized as being important for the health of pregnant women and their babies. There is an international consensus that the initiation of PNC visits should start during the first trimester of pregnancy [1]. Previous studies have reported that the late initiation of PNC is associated with low income [2], unmarried status of the mother [3], parity [4], young maternal age [4, 5], unintended pregnancy [3, 6], and a lack of child care [7]. Our previous work has demonstrated that the socioeconomic and demographic barriers to adequate PNC attendance still exist in the metropolitan area of Tokyo [9]

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