Mary D Nettleman1, Jennifer Brewer, Misty Stafford. 1. Department of Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA. mary.nettleman@ht.msu.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the office-based component of delayed entry into prenatal care. STUDY DESIGN: Phone numbers for all obstetrics offices in a single state were obtained from a commercial list. A research assistant who posed as a newly pregnant, fully insured woman asked each clinic when she should come in for her first prenatal visit. RESULTS: Information was provided by 239 of the 279 (86%) offices. The recommended appointment times ranged from immediately (4 weeks of gestation) to 10.6 weeks, which averaged 6.37 weeks. Twenty-five percent of clinics recommended a first appointment at >/=8 weeks. Scheduling calls were not a source of prenatal advice: <5% of clinics asked about smoking, alcohol, or medical condition; 88% of clinics did not mention vitamins. CONCLUSION: Office-based delays in scheduling the first prenatal visit occur in a substantial proportion of clinics, even for fully insured women. There is a need for a standard source of advice in early pregnancy. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the office-based component of delayed entry into prenatal care. STUDY DESIGN: Phone numbers for all obstetrics offices in a single state were obtained from a commercial list. A research assistant who posed as a newly pregnant, fully insured woman asked each clinic when she should come in for her first prenatal visit. RESULTS: Information was provided by 239 of the 279 (86%) offices. The recommended appointment times ranged from immediately (4 weeks of gestation) to 10.6 weeks, which averaged 6.37 weeks. Twenty-five percent of clinics recommended a first appointment at >/=8 weeks. Scheduling calls were not a source of prenatal advice: <5% of clinics asked about smoking, alcohol, or medical condition; 88% of clinics did not mention vitamins. CONCLUSION: Office-based delays in scheduling the first prenatal visit occur in a substantial proportion of clinics, even for fully insured women. There is a need for a standard source of advice in early pregnancy. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors: Sarah H Heil; Evan S Herrmann; Gary J Badger; Laura J Solomon; Ira M Bernstein; Stephen T Higgins Journal: Prev Med Date: 2014-07-10 Impact factor: 4.018