Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials & Methods
2.1. Study Design and Data Source
2.2. Sample
2.3. Measures
2.3.1. Dependent Variable
2.3.2. Predictor Variables
2.4. Sociodemographic Characteristics
2.5. Healthcare and Social Services Related Variables
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Characteristics | All (n = 3502) | First-Trimester PNC (n = 3075) | Late or No PNC (n = 427) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Weighted % (95% CI) | n | Weighted % (95% CI) | n | Weighted % (95% CI) | p-Value ** | |
| Maternal Race | |||||||
| White | 1760 | 83.3 (82.2–84.4) | 1615 | 84.7 (83.6–85.8) | 145 | 71.4 (66.0–76.2) | |
| Non-White | 1742 | 16.7 (15.7–17.8) | 1460 | 15.3 (14.2–16.4) | 282 | 28.6 (23.8–34.0) | <0.001 |
| Maternal Age (Years) | |||||||
| <20 | 215 | 6.0 (5.0–7.2) | 166 | 5.6 (4.6–6.8) | 49 † | 9.7 (6.4–14.5) | |
| 20–24 | 846 | 23.7 (21.8–25.6) | 726 | 23.3 (21.4–25.3) | 120 | 26.9 (21.4–33.2) | |
| 25–29 | 1098 | 31.2 (29.2–33.2) | 974 | 31.3 (29.3–33.5) | 124 | 30.1 (24.4–36.6) | |
| 30–34 | 867 | 25.8 (24.0–27.7) | 782 | 26.4 (24.5–28.5) | 85 | 20.6 (15.8–26.5) | |
| ≥35 | 476 | 13.3 (11.9–14.8) | 427 | 13.4 (11.9–15.0) | 49 † | 12.6 (8.8–17.7) | 0.0519 |
| Maternal Education | |||||||
| Less than High School | 357 | 11.3 (10.0–12.9) | 251 | 8.6 (7.3–10.0) | 106 | 34.4 (28.2–41.3) | |
| High School | 1042 | 29.2 (27.2–31.2) | 905 | 29.0 (26.9–31.1) | 137 | 31.2 (25.5–37.7) | |
| More than High School | 2103 | 59.5 (57.3–61.6) | 1919 | 62.5 (60.2–64.7) | 184 | 34.4 (28.5–40.7) | <0.001 |
| Marital Status | |||||||
| Married | 1702 | 59.8 (57.7–61.9) | 1565 | 62.4 (60.1–64.5) | 137 | 38.2 (31.9–44.9) | |
| Not Married | 1800 | 40.2 (38.2–42.4) | 1510 | 37.7 (35.5–39.9) | 290 | 61.8 (55.1–68.1) | <0.001 |
| Maternal Residence | |||||||
| Urban | 2519 | 59.4 (57.2–61.5) | 2186 | 58.7 (56.4–61.0) | 333 | 64.6 (57.8–70.8) | |
| Rural | 982 | 40.6 (38.5–42.8) | 889 | 41.0 (39.0–43.6) | 94 | 35.4 (29.2–42.2) | 0.1083 |
| Previous Live Births | |||||||
| None | 1291 | 37.2 (35.1–39.3) | 1149 | 38.0 (35.8–40.2) | 142 | 30.9 (25.1–37.4) | |
| One | 1112 | 33.1 (31.1–35.1) | 1001 | 34.0 (31.8– 36.2) | 111 | 25.6 (20.3–31.8) | |
| Two or More | 1099 | 29.7 (27.8–31.7) | 925 | 28.1 (26.1–30.2) | 174 | 43.5 (37.0–50.2) | <0.001 |
| Pregnancy Intention | |||||||
| Wanted Later | 776 | 18.9 (17.3–20.6) | 658 | 18.7 (17.0–20.5) | 118 | 20.8 (16.2–26.4) | |
| Wanted Sooner | 414 | 13.7 (12.3–15.3) | 379 | 14.1 (12.6–15.8) | 35 † | 10.1 (6.7–15.0) | |
| Wanted Then | 1320 | 44.2 (42.1–46.4) | 1217 | 45.4 (43.2–47.7) | 103 | 33.9 (27.8–40.7) | |
| Didn’t Want Then or Anytime | 324 | 6.8 (5.8–8.0) | 257 | 6.2 (5.2–7.3) | 67 | 12.3 (8.6–17.3) | |
| Unsure What I Wanted | 668 | 16.4 (14.9–18.1) | 564 | 15.6 (14.1–17.4) | 104 | 22.8 (17.8–28.9) | <0.001 |
| Pre-Pregnancy Health Visit | |||||||
| Yes | 2368 | 69.4 (67.3.4–71.3) | 2165 | 72.1 (70.0–74.2) | 203 | 46.2 (39.7–52.9) | |
| No | 1134 | 30.6 (28.7–32.7) | 910 | 27.9 (25.8–30.0) | 224 | 53.8 (47.1–60.3) | <0.001 |
| Prenatal Care Insurance | |||||||
| Public/None | 2080 | 53.9 (51.7–56.0) | 1740 | 50.9 (48.6–53.1) | 340 | 78.9 (73.1–83.7) | |
| Private | 1422 | 46.1 (44.0–48.3) | 1335 | 49.1 (46.7–51.4) | 87 | 21.1 (16.3–27.0) | <0.001 |
| WIC During Pregnancy | |||||||
| Yes | 1551 | 40.4 (38.3–42.6) | 1333 | 39.6 (37.4–41.9) | 218 | 47.0 (40.5–53.7) | |
| No | 1951 | 59.6 (57.5–61.7) | 1742 | 60.4 (58.1–62.6) | 209 | 53.0 (46.3–59.5) | 0.0355 |
| Covariates | Unadjusted Odds Ratios (95% CI) | p-Value | Adjusted Odds Ratios (95% CI) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal Race (Ref: Non-White) | ||||
| White | 2.22 (1.69–2.91) | <0.001 | 1.22 (0.88–1.69) | 0.237 |
| Maternal Age (Years) (Ref: <20 Years) | ||||
| 20–24 | 1.52 (0.88–2.64) | 0.136 | 1.17 (0.64–2.16) | 0.604 |
| 25–29 | 1.83 (1.06–3.14) | 0.029 | 1.06 (0.55–2.04) | 0.868 |
| 30–34 | 2.25 (1.28–3.96) | 0.005 | 1.10 (0.53–2.27) | 0.794 |
| ≥35 | 1.87 (1.01–3.47) | 0.048 | 1.17 (0.56–2.46) | 0.670 |
| Maternal Education (Ref: Less than High School) | ||||
| High School | 3.73 (2.52–5.50) | <0.001 | 3.09 (2.06–4.64) | <0.001 |
| More than High School | 7.31 (5.06–10.6) | <0.001 | 4.23 (2.72–6.59) | <0.001 |
| Marital Status (Ref: Unmarried) | ||||
| Married | 2.68 (2.00–3.59) | <0.001 | 1.59 (1.09–2.34) | 0.017 |
| Maternal Residence (Ref: Urban) | ||||
| Rural | 1.28 (0.95–1.73) | 0.109 | 1.59 (1.12–2.27) | 0.010 |
| Previous Live Births (Ref: None) | ||||
| One | 1.08 (0.75–1.56) | 0.684 | 0.95 (0.62 0 1.45) | 0.812 |
| Two or More | 0.53 (0.38–0.73) | <0.001 | 0.62 (0.40–0.96) | 0.032 |
| Pregnancy Intention (Ref: Did not want to be pregnant then or anytime) | ||||
| Wanted to be pregnant later | 1.79 (1.08–2.97) | 0.023 | 1.50 (0.85–2.63) | 0.159 |
| Wanted to be pregnant sooner | 2.80 (1.52–5.14) | 0.001 | 1.29 (0.66–2.51) | 0.458 |
| Wanted to be pregnant at that time | 2.68 (1.65–4.35) | <0.001 | 1.63 (0.96–2.77) | 0.069 |
| I wasn’t sure what I wanted | 1.37 (0.82–2.28) | 0.225 | 1.10 (0.63–1.92) | 0.741 |
| Pre-Pregnancy Health Visit (Ref: No) | ||||
| Yes | 3.01 (2.26–4.01) | <0.001 | 2.00 (1.45–2.75) | <0.001 |
| Prenatal Care Insurance (Ref: Public) | ||||
| Private | 3.61 (2.59–5.04) | <0.001 | 2.12 (1.34–3.37) | 0.001 |
| WIC During Pregnancy (Ref: No) | ||||
| Yes | 0.74 (0.56–0.98) | 0.036 | 1.68 (1.18–2.39) | 0.004 |
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Eggen, M.B.; Karimi, S.M.; Creel, L.; Little, B.; Basile, B. Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data. Healthcare 2026, 14, 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020146
Eggen MB, Karimi SM, Creel L, Little B, Basile B. Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data. Healthcare. 2026; 14(2):146. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020146
Chicago/Turabian StyleEggen, Melissa B., Seyed M. Karimi, Liza Creel, Bertis Little, and Bridget Basile. 2026. "Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data" Healthcare 14, no. 2: 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020146
APA StyleEggen, M. B., Karimi, S. M., Creel, L., Little, B., & Basile, B. (2026). Sociodemographic and Health-Seeking Factors Associated with First-Trimester Prenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of PRAMS Data. Healthcare, 14(2), 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020146

