Prenatal care use among selected Asian American groups.

Abstract

This study examined the predictors of 3 patterns of prenatal care use (no care, late initiation of care, and inadequate use after early initiation) for 4 Asian American ethnic groups in the United States. Single live births to US resident mothers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese ancestry (n = 273 604) were selected from the 1992-1996 US natality files. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of maternal characteristics on the 3 use measures. Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans had the lowest levels of prenatal care use. Young or single motherhood, high parity for age, and low educational attainment were the main risk factors for low use. Considerable variability exists in prenatal care use among Asian American ethnic groups.