title: Changing trends in pregnancy registration for New Zealand women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Early pregnancy registration is recommended and provides an opportunity for screening, risk assessment and health promotion.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the gestation at pregnancy registration for a cohort of pregnant New Zealand women who received maternity care from a midwife Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) and to determine if women are registering earlier in pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The gestation of pregnancy at registration was reviewed for the 81,821 women who registered with a midwife LMC between 2008 and 2010 and had data recorded in the New Zealand College of Midwives Clinical Outcomes Research Database (COMCORD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over the three-year period, there was a trend towards earlier registration with 22.0% of women registering before 10 weeks' gestation in 2008 increasing to 29.9% in 2010. Women of New Zealand European ethnicity were more likely to register before 10 weeks' gestation compared to women who identified as Maori or Pacific ethnicity. Women under 20 or over 40 years of age were more likely to register in the second or third trimester than other age groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Groups that were slower to register with a midwife LMC were women under 20 years or over 40 years of age and women of Maori or Pacific ethnicity. These groups have higher perinatal mortality rates, higher rates of smoking and lower uptake of antenatal Down syndrome screening. Further research is required to explore the barriers to earlier registration for these groups.
authors.affiliation: New Zealand College of Midwives, PO Box 21106, Edgeware, Christchurch 8143, New Zealand. practice@nzcom.org.nz.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: Wairarapa District Health Board, Masterton, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: New Zealand College of Midwives, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.affiliation: New Zealand College of Midwives, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guilliland
authors.affiliation: New Zealand Institute of Community, Health Care, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hendry
authors.affiliation: Smokechange Limited, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Houston
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment