Prenatal Care Rises Sharply Among Latinas

Orange County health officials are crediting outreach efforts and reduced fears of deportation for a dramatic surge in the number of Latina mothers receiving prenatal care and parenting lessons.

The percentage of Latina mothers receiving early prenatal care jumped from 64% in 1992 to 77% in 1997, the largest increase of any ethnic group, according to a report published by the county Health Care Agency.

The increase is important because Latina mothers are responsible for the largest number of births in the county and are traditionally the least likely to seek prenatal care, officials say.

The rates of prenatal visits for Latinas remain below those of women of other ethnicities, the report shows. In 1997, 91% of non-Hispanic white mothers, 87% of Asian mothers and 83% of African American mothers received early prenatal care.

As Orange County health officials work to encourage more Latina mothers to seek prenatal care, they hope to learn from the women as well--through research into their unexpectedly low rates of infant mortality. Following a nationwide pattern that has baffled researchers for years, Latino infant mortality rates in Orange County are generally lower than those of non-Hispanic whites, despite higher poverty rates and chronically low rates of prenatal doctor visits.

In six of the last eight years, babies born to Latinas in Orange County were less likely to die than those of any other ethnic group. In 1997, the last year for which numbers are available, the Latino infant mortality rate was 4.0 per 1,000 births, compared to 4.4 for whites.

The phenomenon is known in the medical field as the Hispanic epidemiological paradox, a health care contradiction that, so far, has defied explanation, said Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, professor of medicine and director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health.

“Culture is a factor that we need to look at,” including knowledge that goes back centuries to the Aztecs, Hayes-Bautista said.