摘要：Objectives. This study examined the predictors of 3 patterns of prenatal care use (no care, late initiation of care, and inadequate use after early initiation) for 4 Asian American ethnic groups in the United States. Methods. Single live births to US resident mothers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese ancestry (n = 273 604) were selected from the 1992–1996 US natality files. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of maternal characteristics on the 3 use measures. Results. Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans had the lowest levels of prenatal care use. Young or single motherhood, high parity for age, and low educational attainment were the main risk factors for low use. Conclusions. Considerable variability exists in prenatal care use among Asian American ethnic groups. Asian Americans are a growing immigrant population in the United States. Researchers are only beginning to understand the extent to which different Asian American groups exhibit unique patterns of maternal health risks, health care use, and health outcomes. Divergent patterns of prenatal care use and low birthweight and infant mortality risks have been observed among various Asian American subgroups, between specific Asian American groups and Whites, and between native-born and foreign-born Asian Americans. 1– 13 Early access to and adequate use of prenatal care have been associated with positive birth outcomes among Asian Americans, 1– 7, 14– 16 and because it provides the opportunity for health education and the early identification and treatment of pregnancy complications and medical conditions, prenatal care has been promoted to reduce ethnic variations in adverse pregnancy outcomes. 1– 7, 14– 29 Although the reasons for ethnic variations in prenatal care use are not fully understood, financial obstacles, language barriers, and cultural beliefs are frequently cited precursors to inadequate use, along with transportation problems, lack of spousal support, the need for child care, and inconvenient office hours. 16, 30– 37 To date, no study has examined the use of prenatal care by Asian Americans at the national level. The objective of this study was to examine the sociodemographic predictors of 3 patterns of prenatal care use—no care, late initiation of care, and inadequate use after an early initiation of prenatal care—for the 4 largest Asian American ethnic groups in the United States: Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese.
