title: Continuity of care between obstetrical and pediatric preventive care: indicators of nonattendance at the first well-child appointment.
abstract: This study evaluates appointment behavior for first well-child visits for first-born children and identifies factors that target infants at increased likelihood for missing their first pediatric appointment. Timely appointments were not scheduled for 10.3% of newborns; 20.1% of those scheduling did not keep the first appointment. Younger, less educated mothers who did not remember when they had learned about well-baby care, and mothers of infants born in the newborn intensive care unit were unlikely to schedule the appointment; young mothers learning about well care from friends or relatives and who chose a pediatrician without a previous prenatal visit were more likely to miss the child's first appointment. Prenatal pediatric visits as well as prenatal classes and written materials may improve compliance with the first well-child appointment.
authors.affiliation: Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, USA.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Humbert
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Powell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D002654:Child Care; D002669:Child Welfare; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D008423:Maternal Age; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires