Prenatal Health Care among Low-Income Minority Women

583 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of health literacy

Two-thirds of infants die during the first month of life due to low birth weight (Lia-Hoagberg et al, 1990). One reason for this outcome is primarily due to difficulties in accessing prenatal care. Prenatal health care encompasses the health of women in both pre and post childbearing years and provides the support for a healthy lifestyle for the mother and fetus and/or infant. This form of care plays an important role in the prevention of poor birth outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight and infant mortality, where education, risk assessment, treatment of complications, and monitoring of fetus development are vital (McKenzie, Pinger,& Kotecki, 2012). Although every woman is recommended to receive prenatal health care, low-income and disadvantaged minority women do not seek care due to structural and individual barriers. Cook, Selig, Wedge, and Gohn-Baube (1999) stated that an essential part of the country’s public health agenda is to improve access to prenatal care, particularly for economically disadvantaged women. I agree with this statement because access to care is very important for the outcome of a healthy mother and child. Improving access to prenatal care for disadvantaged women will not only save lives but also lighten the high financial, social, and emotional costs of caring for low weight babies. Some of the barriers that these women face are mainly structural where the availability of care is limited; the cost of care is a financial burden; and the time to seek care is problematic due to being single mothers working more than one job (Lia-Hoagberb, 1990). Additionally, there is the issue of prenatal care being delivered differently depending on one’s race. A study found that White mothers delivering ve... ... middle of paper ... ....Med, 30(4), 487-495. Loveland Cook, C.A., Selig, K.L., Wedge, B.J., & Gohn-Baube, E.A. (1999). Access barriers and the use of prenatal care by low-income, inner-city women. Social Work, 44(2), 129-139. McKenzie, J.F., Pinger, R.R., & Kotecki, J.E. (2012). An introduction to community health. Sadbury, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning. Paul, D.A., Locke, R., Zook, K., Leef, K.H., Stefano, J.L. & Colmorgan, G. (2006). Racial differences in prenatal care of mothers delivering very low birth weight infants. Journal of Perinatology, 26, 74-78. Schaffer, M.A. & Lia-Hoagberg, B. (1997). Effects of social support on prenatal care and health behaviors of low-income women. JOGNN, 26, 433-440. Sword, W. (1999). A socio-ecological approach to understanding barriers to prenatal care for women of low income. Jourcal of Advanced Nursing, 29(5), 1170-1177.

Show More
Related

  • The Global Epidemic of Cesarean Surgery and the Feminist Movement

    4505 Words  | 10 Pages

    We are here faced with the polar opposite extremes in birthing. Seemingly, if a woman has too little prenatal care and education regarding birthing (as in Africa) she may not have the access to a Cesarean when she truly needs it; and at the other end of the spectrum if a woman has enveloped herself in a system that relies too heavily on birthing technologies she may end up with an unnecessary Cesarean surgery. Other paradigms exist for birthing such as in Holland where every woman is provided with a midwife for her birth, and Brazil where the C-section rate tops 80 percent. Yet another microcosmic pocket of birth in the U.S. shows us that C-section rates can be achieved at below 2%.

    Read More

  • Summary: The Healthy Start Border Alliance

    131 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Healthy Start Border Alliance is an example of a program which tries to increase the number of pregnant women who receive prenatal care during the first trimester. The program consists of five Healthy Start projects all along the U.S.-Mexican border with the purpose of reducing infant mortality and low birth-weight and improving health and outcome disparities. Currently, the programs are performing surveys of Hispanic women childbearing age, inquiring into the reason for not obtaining early prenatal. The results have indicated that the main reason for not receiving an adequate prenatal care is that pregnancy was unintentional.

    Read More

  • When the Bough Breaks

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, I will give out some statistics of infant mortality rates in America. According to an Amnesty International report, two maternal deaths occur every day for African-American women. Even though 99% of birth-related deaths happen in developing countries, these numbers for African American women in a country with world renowned health facilities are discouraging.

    Read More

  • Healthcare Disparities among African Americans

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Williams, D. R., & Jackson, P. (2014, April 1). Health Affairs. Social Sources Of Racial Disparities In Health. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/325.short

    Read More

  • The Midwife’s Role in Informing Pregnant Women of the Importance of Folic Acid

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    How the provision of information in the antenatal period can positively affect health and life style choices in the pregnant woman and her family.

    Read More

  • Healthy Start Research Paper

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    This underserved community has many problems such as preterm birth, teen pregnancy, low use of breastfeeding, and high rate of maternal mortality. Preterm birth is highly prevalent in the community, with 15.5% higher than the Healthy People goal of 11.4%. In addition, teen pregnancy is another concern in the community with being the highest in the Queens, New York City and New York State rate. Queens also has the lowest level of breastfeeding compare to other areas in the New York City. Maternal mortality is three times higher in African American in the NYC area than those of other races. This program focuses on reducing these health disparities and improves the health of those

    Read More

  • Early Emotional and Social Devlepment

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poverty reduces options for parents, as many parents living in poverty may not be able to afford prenatal care leading to a higher risk of health problems when the child is born.

    Read More

  • The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP)

    300 Words  | 1 Pages

    Most women in Canada are not fortunate to have the proper resources or support to ease their pregnancy. During the perinatal period both the women and child carry significant risks before, during and after pregnancy. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) is a well-established program since 1994 that continues to provide long-term funds to numerous groups within Canada to help pregnant women overcome their current demographic conditions. This program endures to address the importance of at-risk pregnant women, their families and children with a vision to promote healthy pregnancy and birth outcomes. This program is targeted mainly towards women that are dealing with challenging life situation including teenage pregnancy, alcohol or substance

    Read More

  • Poverty and Low Birth Weights

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Receiving good prenatal care is extremely important for an expecting mother. The prenatal period has a great impact on the newborn’s health. Low birth weight is a problem among a certain population of newborns. It is crucial to understand the conditions in poverty and its affects on birth weights in infants.

    Read More

  • Planned Parenthood Preventive Abortion

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prenatal care includes the treatment and care before birth to prevent health problems for both the mother and child in the future. Without health insurance, the average cost of prenatal care is about $2,000 (in-text citation). However, this isn’t their only dilemma, without insurance coverage, women will need to pay for not only prenatal care, but also maternity care, hospital delivery, hospital stay, post-partum healthcare, check-ups, and much more. Prenatal care is only a fraction of what their total bill will come out as. After the repeal and replace of Obamacare, the medical costs for pregnancy care before, during, and after may severely increase for women being considered as a pre-existing

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Medicalization Of Childbirth

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    This need of a social support raises the paradox that for women to have control over the birthing process, no matter the setting or intervention used, autonomy does not rest on the presence of

    Read More

  • Abortion

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Financially, raising a child can be overwhelming. A September 2005 survey in the peer-reviewed journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health asking women why they had an abortion, found that 73% of respondents said they could not afford to have a baby (Abortion). In this country, there are 46.5 million people living at or below the poverty line. Frightening but true, over five million more women than men are living below the poverty line (Poverty in the United States: A Snapshot). If any of these women living below the poverty line become pregnant, they should have the option to abort if they realize that they cannot provide for that child. If not, a child growing up in poverty may be compromised in his ability to succeed in school; his social and emotional well-being, and his health may also be affected. If approximately 13 million of America’s children live in poverty, abortion may be a way to keep the number of In deciding to keep the baby, mothers take into consideration their current lifestyle and whether it is fit or not to support a child.

    Read More

  • Perinatal Mortality

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perinatal mortality refers to the no of deaths in the first week of life and no of fetal deaths (stillbirths). Causes and determinants of neonatal deaths and stillbirths differ from those causing and contributing to post neonatal and child deaths. Neonatal deaths and stillbirths stem from poor maternal health, inadequate care during pregnancy, inappropriate management of complications during pregnancy and delivery, poor hygiene during delivery and the first critical hours after birth, and lack of newborn care. Several factors such as women’s status in society, their nutritional status at the time of conception, early childbearing, too many closely spaced pregnancies and harmful practices, such as inadequate cord care, letting the baby stay wet and cold, discarding colostrum and feeding other food, are deeply rooted in the

    Read More

  • Postnatal Care

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    In contrast. women from the A8 countries are coming from countries with highly medicalised maternity care, also these women do not carry the burden of being undocumented immigrants or asylum seekers. Their needs should be thoroughly understood in order to be able to provide high quality maternity care. The other reason to propose an intervention that focuses directly on a particular minority group of women is that previous studies have indicated that the benefits of prenatal care are not evenly distributed throughout the social strata and interventions targeted at the general population often do not reach minorities and have limited effects on their health (Van Zwicht et al., 2016). This suggests that an alternative care model is required to addresses some of the factors that contribute to adverse birth outcomes and poorer health reported in immigrant groups (Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries, 2011).

    Read More

  • Home Birth

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, with less than one percent of all children in America born outside of a hospital, a growing movement is reversing that trend, and more women are opting to have children at home. One of the keys to a successful home birth experience is the hiring of a midwife. The increasing number of home births comes in a time when modern medicine is reporting scientific facts surrounding the reduction of the number of infant deaths. A study published in 2014; tracking the safety of home birth in the United States has taken a major step in the right direction, its authors believe. It found that outcomes among women who had planned, midwife-led home births were “excellent,” and that the women experienced relatively low rates of intervention. The study, published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, looked at the home birth outcomes for roughly 17,000 women as recorded in the Midwives Alliance of North America data collection system between 2004 and 2009. It was found that, 89.1% gave birth at home, fewer than 5% required transfer for Pitocin or an epidural, and the VBAC success rate was 87% (94% of which were out of hospital births) (Cheyney, M., Bovbjerg, M., Everson, C., Gordon, W., Hannibal, D., Vedam, S.,

    Read More

More about Prenatal Health Care among Low-Income Minority Women

Open Document