Essay On Prenatal Care

While across the United States exists considerable numbers of birth tourism, there is one state in particular that research shows to have the greatest activity. 1 Statistics highlights, “more than two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles public hospitals, and more than half of all births in that city, and nearly 10 percent of all births in the nation in recent years, have been to mothers who are here illegally” (Will). 2 Los Angeles is seeing high activity for birth tourism due to package plans available through agencies, “profit-seeking and sometimes illegal organizations that arrange accommodations and hospital visits for groups of Chinese women” (Brush). Immigrants from across other countries come to settle in the Unites States for better opportunity’s and a high percentage are from Latin America. 3 In fact, “the U.S. 4 is typically centered around people from

Discuss disparities related to ethnic and cultural groups relative to low birth weight infants and preterm births.

It is estimated that between 287,000 to 363,000 anchor babies are born a year, and there could be countless more because hospital workers can not inquire of patients' legality. California provides free natal care and delivery to all pregnant mothers no matter of citizenship and it costs the state 215.2 million dollars a year. Californians voted to end the program, but at the state government session, the president of Mexico provided an argument to strike the vote down.

Currently Medicaid helps in pay for about 40% of all births in the United States; this means that 40% of births in the United States are to mothers and families that qualify for federal assistance due to situations of poverty and low income. Medicaid also only covers hospital stays and services and doctors visits. This tells us that there is a need for improvement, as well as hole in the market, for assistance in maternal/child care during birth. There should be other organizations to turn to instead of only the government. Having more options for assistance and care would allow women to make healthier and more informed decisions

New Mexico is one of the highest states compared to the rest of the nation on unplanned pregnancies. Unintended pregnancies are associated with

PCI is a San Diego-based organization committed to providing health, opportunity, and support to disadvantaged mothers, children, and families living in the U.S./Mexico border region. Since 1961, founder Dr. James Turpin and his team have offered core services designed to reduce infant mortality and low birth weight, as well as increase the number of women accessing prenatal care during pregnancy. The program focuses on women from under served areas of central and southern San Diego County, especially in the nation’s

The results of this investigational of the Healthy Start Border Alliance are preliminary; however, they offer insights into the patterns of prenatal care initiation among the target population. The rates of early prenatal care initiation assessed among survey respondents are higher than reported project and county rates, which may suggest the need for adjustments in the sampling strategy to better represent the Healthy Start communities along the border. The following are the preliminary result of the study:

Birth outcomes not only predict immigrant health outcomes, they also may determine factors affecting health behaviors of foreign-born immigrants and U.S.-born Americans. Research articles on immigrant infants’ health indicate despite parents’ ethnicity, newborns from foreign-born immigrant mothers have lower rates of low birth weight and fewer preterm births than newborns from U.S.- born mothers. Reducing preterm (<2500g) births are important for perinatal health because preterm and low birth weight put babies at a higher risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality (Urquia, Frank & Glazier 2010). Low birth weight is associated with higher risks of congenital anomalies, neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders, and generally poorer child health

The issue that I have chosen for the Current Issues and Theory project is the lack of mothers partaking in quality prenatal care. It is fairly accepted among individuals that prenatal care is important, but there are still mothers that choose not to engage in prenatal care. It has been proven that the absence of prenatal care leads to an increased risk of low birth weight and neonatal mortality; moreover, the increased risk of neonatal mortality in the absence of prenatal care is observed in women with both the absence and presence of antenatal high-risk conditions1. Since the consequences of not seeking prenatal care are so precarious, it makes one wonder why mothers would choose not to partake in such a beneficial action. One study suggests

It was noted in the study as well that Medicaid did not pay for beneficial services such as preconception or interconception services and that is only covered pregnancy services from the time of diagnosis until six weeks postpartum. Additional gaps, identified were socioeconomic stresses for the mother and post-delivery health related issues for infants and mothers. Another gap noted throughout the literature review was the variations in provider services, such as health system performance in being able to see women other than 6 weeks before or under specific guidelines as indicated by insurance. The variations of services rendered varied among providers, centers and hospitals in the state by regions. Another gap identified from the literature review, indicated that although a small delay in prenatal care services was not associated with poor outcomes, but early recognition of pregnancy signs and symptoms is often the missing piece and it has been proven that early recognition can increase healthy birth outcomes. The research suggested that nurses and health care providers can provide opportunities to educate women on the early signs and symptoms of pregnancy recognition during health care visits by providing brochures, playing video segments during office wait time, or through incorporating early signs of pregnancy into a woman’s health care visit. Therefore, a lack of knowledge of early pregnancy signs.

Early prenatal care prevents potential medical problems, and increases opportunities for a positive outcome. Pregnant women who enter into prenatal care at the first trimester receive the education, information and support needed to have a healthy pregnancy. Also, the medical provider has a higher opportunity to control pre-existing conditions, or pregnancy-related conditions that can complicate pregnancy, and make sure that the baby is growing and developing appropriately.

Access to prenatal care is also known to be a determinant of high infant mortality rates. Just like almost everything else,

According to National Institute of Health (2013), having a healthy pregnancy is one of the best ways to promote a healthy birth. Getting early and regular prenatal care improves the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Prenatal care is a type of preventative health care, which includes health care provider visits at every stage of pregnancy that includes blood tests, imaging tests, such as ultrasound exams for a healthy baby. Prenatal care in the U.S. typically consists of approximately 12 individual visits. It can help to prevent complications during pregnancy. It’s a women’s issue because pregnancy in teens increases the risk for preeclampsia and gestational high blood pressure if they don’t get proper prenatal care. It will help in reducing blood

For example in South Africa, 200,000 women die every year during childbirth. Mostly due to the fact that the majority of these women live in rural, nomadic or even slum communities and do not have access to basic reproductive and maternal health services (Amref Health Africa in the USA). Complication that are easily treated and prevented in the US are very deadly in many parts of South Africa. Complications like hemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders and unsafe abortions lead to a higher mortality rate for both mother and child. The access to prenatal vitamins much less just regular vitamins is very limited in most parts of Southern Africa. The nutrition level in South Africa is much worse compared to the level in the US. In developing countries like Africa, just getting one prenatal visit is a success; four would be considered a victory (The Bump

Preterm birth is the most common cause of infant death at birth. This article shares with us that nearly one million infants die from complications of preterm birth each year. Many factors contribute to complications of premature birth such as infection of the placenta, problems with the amniotic fluid, and generic and social factors. As the premature infants grow, many experience difficulties in development, behavior, disability, and other medical conditions. A better understanding of preterm birth and the consequences that arise from preterm birth could extend better health outcomes for premature infants. With educating mothers of possible risk factors of preterm birth and intervening, we could decrease the risk of preterm birth. Millions