The percentage of black women receiving prenatal care in the first trimester increased from 44.2 percent in 1970 to 62.4 percent in 1980. Rates declined slightly to 60.6 percent in 1990, but continued to increase in subsequent years, reaching 70.3 percent by 1995. The percentage of Hispanic women who receive early prenatal care has increased steadily, from 60.2 percent in 1980 to 70.4 percent by 1995. The percentage of white women receiving early prenatal care increased from 72.3 percent to 79.2 percent between 1970 and 1980, was stable through the 1980s, then increased during the 1990s to 83.5 percent by 1995. Differences by Age of Mother.
Older women are more likely to receive early prenatal care than are younger women.
Although there have been improvements in the receipt of early prenatal care by teenagers, this age group is consistently the least likely to receive prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. Receipt of early prenatal care among women under age 15 improved considerably between 1975 and 1994, increasing from 30.9 percent to 45.7 percent. The percentage of women age 35 and over who received early prenatal care also improved during this time period, increasing from 68.4 percent in 1975 to 86.2 percent by 1994. More than 80 percent of mothers age 25 and older received early prenatal care throughout the 1990s. National Center for Health Statistics.