Early, high-quality prenatal care is critical to reducing risks for complications of pregnancy or birth and improving birth outcomes.

In general, early prenatal care rates among White mothers are higher than rates for African American, Hispanic and mothers in other racial/ethnic groups. In 2021, 69% of African American, 73% of Hispanic, and 79% of mothers in other racial/ethnic groups in Westchester County received early prenatal care, compared to 86% of White mothers. These rates are all higher than New York State and on par or slightly lower than Rockland, Nassau and Putnam rates.

The rates of early prenatal care in Westchester have increased for all race/ethnicities since 2006. The rate among mothers in other groups increased 14 points, followed by Hispanic mothers with an increase of 11 points, White mothers with an increase of 8 points and African American mothers with an increase of 4 points. However, rate for all racial groups have decreased since 2019 with Hispanic mothers seeing the largest decrease of 6 percentage points.

Researchers have uncovered a number of factors contributing to generally lower rates of early prenatal care among mothers of color. These include: socioeconomic characteristics like education and family income; maternal health and characteristics of pregnancies (such as maternal age and number of previous pregnancies); types of insurance coverage - whether women are covered by Medicaid, private insurance, or have no coverage; and the location of prenatal care facilities - in physicians' offices and public health clinics. One study found socioeconomic differences was responsible for roughly half the gap - pregnant women with lower incomes and levels of formal education often do not have the resources necessary to obtain care early and often - but that public programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children increased access to care.

The rate excludes the number of live births for which the date of entry into prenatal care is unknown. In addition to considering when prenatal care began, it is also important to understand the quality and continuity of care received throughout the pregnancy. The categories shown are those that are tracked by the state Health Department.