Despite the nation's birth rate falling, new data from the CDC suggests a growing number of women go without any prenatal care while pregnant.
The percentage of mothers who did not receive any prenatal care rose from 2.2% in 2022 to 2.3% in 2023. Over the same period, the number of babies born in the U.S. fell 2%, according to the data brief published Aug. 20 by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
Even though it is a small increase, experts said it could lead to a rise in serious pregnancy complications, NBC News reported Aug. 19.
"High blood pressure related to pregnancy can lead to serious illness or death by causing complications like strokes or seizures or heart attacks," Kathryn Lindley, MD, a cardio-obstetrician at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told the news outlet.
The trend may in part be related to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, experts said. For two years in a row, data on residency programs shows fewer medical school graduates applied to programs in states with abortion bans. Meanwhile, an estimated 2.2 million women live in maternity care "deserts," defined by the March of Dimes as counties that lack access to obstetric hospitals, birth centers and providers.
"In many counties, you can't even find a prenatal provider," said Brenna Hughes, MD, executive vice chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "If you have limited resources and have to travel to be able to access prenatal care, it is going to be a deterrent."