Inadequate prenatal care and maternal country of birth: a retrospective study of southeast Spain

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the association between the maternal country of birth and inadequacy in the use of prenatal care, and to identify factors that might explain this association.

Study design: A retrospective case series was carried out in a public hospital in southern Spain, including 6873 women who delivered between 2005 and 2007. The maternal country of birth was categorised into four regional groups: Spain, Maghreb (north-west Africa), Eastern Europe and Others (non-Spain), while the use of prenatal care was quantified according to a modified Kotelchuck index: APNCU-1M and APNCU 2M. The effect of country of birth on inadequate prenatal care was analysed using a multiple logistic regression model designed to accommodate factors such as age, parity, previous miscarriages, and pre-gestational and gestational risks. Likelihood ratio tests were performed to assess any interactions.

Results: A significant association was found between maternal country of birth and inadequate prenatal care regardless of the index used. Under APNCU 1-M the strength of association was strongest for Eastern European origin (odds ratio (OR) 6.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.2-7.32), followed by the Maghreb (OR: 5.58, 95% CI: 4.69-6.64). These associations remained virtually unchanged after adjusting for potential confounders. Interactions were observed between age and parity, with the highest risk of inadequacy seen among the Eastern European childbearing women over 34 years of age having 1-2 previous children (OR: 7.63, 95% CI: 3.65-15.92).

Conclusion: Prenatal health care initiatives would benefit from the study of a larger number of variables to address the differences between different groups of women. We recommend the widespread use of standardised indices for the study of prenatal care utilisation.