The effects of prenatal care utilization and maternal risk factors on pregnancy outcome between Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

This study evaluates the effects of prenatal care classification and levels of maternal risk status on pregnancy outcomes in Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites in Arizona. All live birth certificates from 1986 and 1987 were reviewed yielding a total population of 101,206 (26,827 Mexican Americans). The adequacy of prenatal care was evaluated based on an index that includes six prenatal care groups. Two levels of maternal risk status (low and high) were defined based on a series of maternal risk factors. Overall, Mexican Americans had a greater proportion of maternal risk factors and a greater proportion of mothers with inadequate or no prenatal care compared with non-Hispanic whites. Prematurity and macrosomia were more prevalent than low birthweight in Mexican Americans. Low-risk status and adequate prenatal care regardless of ethnicity were found to be associated with a lower prevalence of low birthweight and preterm delivery. Whites, however, had a greater variation in the prevalence of low birthweight associated with changes in prenatal care utilization and maternal risk status compared with Mexican Americans. Finally, logistic regression analysis showed an independent effect of prenatal care, maternal risk status, maternal age, and maternal birthplace in predicting the overall low birthweight rate in Mexican Americans. The implications of these results are discussed relative to the usefulness of prenatal care as a health-care intervention in Mexican Americans.