Show nf Most Frequently Reported Reasons for not Seeking Early Prenatal Care Factors Affecting The Possibility of Your Having a Low Birthweight Baby Ei?T5SCSrj5ir'J Medical previous pregnancies that ended in miscariage or a previous low birthwrigfrt baby O a history of certain diseases in y'xir family G a medical condition such as heart kidney or breathing problems high blood pressure diabetes or certain infections Social Economic and Geographic Factors G having discouraged by the cost of a baby and don’t seek early prenatal care G age: if you are very young and pregnant you may not have access to information about gtxxl health habits Q marital status: if you are single you are at increased risk due to stress and other sx:ial economic and psychological factors Q if you live in the rural areas of the Intermountain West you may live a great distance from a doctor or hospital or medical personnel may be in short supply Mother’s Habits and Attitudes G poor nutrition: is your baby die food you eat lack of early and regular nourished Q by prenatal care Q use of cigarettes alcohol medications and recreational drugs which may retard fetal development Q unwillingness to admit you are pregnant until the signs become obvious tfi us delaying medical care Prenatal Care For All Women G lack of money including lack of understanding of maternity coverage through insurance plans or other available financial Access to prenatal services is for some Utah who are out of die health care mainstream because poverty lack of health care insurance inadequate education of race geography or culture Some obstacles exist within the health care delivery system itself These barriers to early care for all women are being eased by recent federal regulations which permits Medicaid coverage on the very day that pregnant women first seek maternity care In the past a pregnant woman could not enter care until she had actually qualified for Medicaid a process which can take valuable time to complete who Physicians and provided care for these women so without being assured any payment for services did Under this new "presumptive eligibility” plan a pregnant woman who meets certain financial guidelines will receive prenatal care fiom her first clinic visit and continuing care for up to 45 days or until actual Medicaid eligibility has been confirmed or denied A woman must visit one of several Qualified Provider Sites to have her eligibility for this program determined In addition she must file her Medicaid application within 14 days of her first visit To find out if you qualify for this program or for more information contact one of the Qualified Provider Sites on page 7 Who Will Deliver The Babies? over 50 physicians in stopped delivering babies joined the 38 doctors who dropped obstetrical services at the end of 1986 Why! Because they could no longer afford the price of liability (malpractice) insurance coverage Twenty years ago Utah obstetricians and family doctors who practiced obstetrics could buy Id 1987 assistance programs G unaware of the importance early care with each pregnancy of G available care providers were unacceptable (for a variety of reasons) G unable Q fear to nearest care of die pregnancy of discovery of the pregnancy G lack GzSi&lSiGzyi to arrange transportation provider denial GzSi&ZbGZfr of information about the of pregnancy early symptoms adequate liability insurance for just $250 per year This year they will pay well over $30000 As a result increasing numbers of physicians are faced with an unpleasant choice: either raise fees to cover the skyrocketing cost of liability insurance or drop out of the baby business altogether Malpractice does happen And where a physician injures a patient through his or her negligence the patient deserves compensation But in a society where people are likely to resort to legal increasingly action obstetricians are asking themselves if they must be responsible for nature’s mistakes as well as their own So who will deliver the babies? The problem has reached crisis proportions in Utah's rural areas Many rural physicians have already stopped delivering babies When an expectant mother from one of these areas needs prenatal care and goes into labor she may often have to travel an extra 50 100 even 150 miles to find a doctor or to care for her and her baby It can be safe to have a baby today Yet is has never been more financially rely for a doctor to deliver one over |