Publication date: Sep 23, 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals’ decision of not admitting pregnant women’s partner or support person, and pregnant women’s fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospitals may disrupt prenatal care. We aimed to examine whether prenatal care utilization in South Carolina varied before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the variation was different by race. We utilized 2018-2021 statewide birth certificate data using a pre-post design, including all women who delivered a live birth in South Carolina. The Kotelchuck Index – incorporating the timing of prenatal care initiation and the frequency of gestational age-adjusted visits – was employed to categorize prenatal care into inadequate versus adequate care. Self-reported race includes White, Black, and other race groups. Multiple logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds ratio of inadequate prenatal care and prenatal care initiation after first trimester by maternal race before and during the pandemic. A total of 118,925 women became pregnant before the pandemic (before March 2020) and 29,237 women during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – June 2021). Regarding race, 65. 2% were White women, 32. 0% were Black women and 2. 8% were of other races. Lack of adequate prenatal care was more prevalent during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic (24. 1% vs. 21. 6%, p 

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Semantics

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