๐ Women for Hawaii no dey receive enough prenatal care ๐คฐ
Plenti women for Hawaii no dey receive important prenatal care, e dey put dem and dia babies for increased risk of health wahala. Indeed, di state don rank last for recent years when e come to women wey dey get adequate care, wey be say dem begin care for di first four months of pregnancy and dem make am go di appropriate number of doctors appointments. ๐ฅ
Just 62% of women for Hawaii meet dis benchmark for 2021, according to di government data wey dem release recently, compared with national rate wey be about 75%. ๐
Di rates worst for Oahu and Hawaii island, where only 60% of women meet di adequacy benchmark when dem average am over di years 2019-2021, and di best for Kauai, where 86% of women receive adequate care. On Maui, 80% of women meet dis standard, though di island dey face crisis for prenatal care as di only private practice wey deliver babies dey phase out obstetrics services. ๐บ
Among di more troubling data points: About 1 in 9 infants for Hawaii dey born to mother wey no begin receive pregnancy care until her third trimester or receive no prenatal care at all, according to di survey data wey March of Dimes analyze. Di rate, wey don hover for dis level since 2018, na nearly twice di national average. ๐ฑ
Ideally, prenatal care suppose begin within di first three months of pregnancy, according to health officials. Di state Department of Health’s Family Health Services Division don collect di data annually for decades through surveys wey become part of di Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a project of di U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ๐ฅ
A review of di data over di past two decades indicate say Hawaii don dey trend for di wrong direction. For example, for 2001, 82% of women dey begin prenatal care for di first trimester, a rate wey steadily decline reach 71% for 2021. โณ
Dr. Ann Chang, an OB-GYN for Kapiolani and Pali Momi medical centers and di associate director of di University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine’s OB-GYN residency program, talk say she no surprise by di numbers. ๐ฌ
“My partners and I dey take care of plenti women wey get barriers to accessing health care,” she talk. ๐ฉโโ๏ธ
Chang talk say women fit no get health insurance or no sabi how to navigate di health care system. Sometimes, dem no fit obtain appointment or even know for di early months say dem dey pregnant. ๐
“Even if dem fit access care, dem fit get work or child care issues and no fit find time for appointments,” she talk. โ
Chang talk say certain areas of di state also get limited providers, and while Oahu get good number of obstetricians, dem no dey all take Medicaid, wey fit pose another barrier to care. โ
For women wey no initiate care early or reach follow-up appointments, risks dey higher. Prenatal checkups fit help doctors catch conditions, like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, wey threaten di health of mothers and dia babies. Infants wey dem mama no receive any prenatal care dey three times more likely to get low birth weight and five times more likely to die, according to di CDC, while expectant mothers dey three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. ๐ข
Early screenings fit also detect infections like HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis wey fit affect di health of both mothers and babies. ๐ฉโโ๏ธ๐ฌ
NOW IN ENGLISH
๐ Women in Hawaii are not receiving adequate prenatal care. ๐คฐ
Many women in Hawaii are not receiving the important prenatal care they need, which puts them and their babies at an increased risk of health problems. Unfortunately, the state has consistently ranked last in recent years when it comes to women receiving adequate care, meaning they start receiving care within the first four months of pregnancy and attend the appropriate number of doctor’s appointments. ๐ฅ
According to recently released government data, only 62% of women in Hawaii met this benchmark in 2021, compared to a national rate of about 75%. ๐
The rates are particularly concerning for Oahu and Hawaii Island, where only 60% of women met the adequacy benchmark when averaged over the years 2019-2021. On the other hand, Kauai had the highest percentage with 86% of women receiving adequate care. Maui also had a relatively high rate of 80% meeting this standard, although the island is facing a prenatal care crisis as the only private practice delivering babies is phasing out obstetrics services. ๐บ
Among the more troubling data points is that approximately 1 in 9 infants in Hawaii are born to mothers who either did not receive pregnancy care until their third trimester or received no prenatal care at all, as analyzed by survey data from March of Dimes. This rate, which has remained at this level since 2018, is nearly twice the national average. ๐ฑ
Ideally, prenatal care should begin within the first three months of pregnancy, according to health officials. The state Department of Health’s Family Health Services Division has been collecting this data annually for decades through surveys that are part of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a project of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ๐ฅ
A review of the data over the past two decades indicates that Hawaii has been trending in the wrong direction. For example, in 2001, 82% of women started prenatal care in the first trimester, but this rate steadily declined to 71% in 2021. โณ
Dr. Ann Chang, an OB-GYN at Kapiolani and Pali Momi medical centers and the associate director of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine’s OB-GYN residency program, says she is not surprised by these numbers. ๐ฌ
“My partners and I take care of many women who face barriers to accessing healthcare,” she says. ๐ฉโโ๏ธ
Chang explains that women may lack health insurance or knowledge of how to navigate the healthcare system. Sometimes, they may struggle to schedule appointments or even be unaware of their pregnancy during the early months. ๐
“Even if they can access care, they may have work or child care issues and struggle to find time for appointments,” she adds. โ
Chang also mentions that certain areas of the state have limited healthcare providers. While Oahu has a good number of obstetricians, not all of them accept Medicaid, which poses another barrier to care. โ
For women who do not initiate care early or attend follow-up appointments, the risks are higher. Prenatal checkups can help doctors detect conditions like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, which threaten the health of both mothers and their babies. Infants whose mothers did not receive any prenatal care are three times more likely to have low birth weight and five times more likely to die, according to the CDC. Additionally, expectant mothers are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. ๐ข
Early screenings can also detect infections like HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, which can affect the health of both mothers and babies. ๐ฉโโ๏ธ๐ฌ