Nonuse of prenatal care: implications for social work involvement.
A qualitative study of reasons for nonuse of prenatal care was conducted over a 10-month period in 1988 and 1989. Through personal interviews with 44 women who did not obtain prenatal care, four categories of reasons for nonuse were identified: (1) the women's lifestyles differed from mainstream society; (2) the women believed prenatal care was important, but stressful events in their lives took priority; (3) the women attempted to receive care but were discouraged, turned away, or given poor information by service delivery system personnel; and (4) the women did not want the baby. These reasons clearly indicate a need for social services intervention.
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Department of Social Work, University of West Florida, Pensacola 32514-5751.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008016:Life Change Events; D008019:Life Style; D017533:Marital Status; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012947:Social Work; D016312:Treatment Refusal