Prenatal care: attitudes and trends of usage among Mexican American women.

Mexican American women in the state of Utah receive less prenatal care than the general population. This research project consisted of interviews of women from the Hispanic population of the Weber-Morgan District to determine their reasons for not obtaining more prenatal care. The Health Belief Model was used as a conceptual framework to provide direction for data analysis. A number of interesting results emerged from the data analysis. An inconsistency was noted in that the number of prenatal care visits reported by subjects was greater than the number recorded on the Birth Certificates. Most women were satisfied with the amount of care they received. No single factor was implicated in the avoidance of professional prenatal care. The women expressed a preference for advice from doctors during pregnancy, although physicians were not noted to be consistent sources of information. The women felt that prenatal care should be low-cost and that some care providers should speak Spanish. The value of supportive programs offered by the local health department was affirmed. Based on the findings, suggestions were made for the improvement and/or adaptation of prenatal care services which would make them more acceptable to Hispanic women. Suggestion for client education were also made.