Participation in Prenatal Care in the Paso del Norte Border Region: The Influence of Acculturation

Abstract

Women who resided on the El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico border (the Paso del Norte region) were surveyed to determine the barriers and facilitators to receiving early and adequate prenatal care. Postpartum interviews and medical chart abstractions were conducted among 493 Hispanic women. Primary facilitators were all factors that made prenatal care services more accessible to women and a priority among other issues competing for time and resources. The factors reported by these women as barriers to timely entry and sustaining enrollment in prenatal care were related to the availability of social support networks and affiliation with the Mexican/Hispanic culture (acculturation).

Risk Factors for Excessive or Inadequate Gestational Weight Gain Among Hispanic Women in a U.S.-Mexico Border State

“…As noted in Table 3, receiving inadequate prenatal care as assessed by the Kotelchuck protocol doubled the risk of inadequate GWG, which was itself associated with an increased risk of having a low‐birth‐weight infant. Nurses and other public health professionals can build on existing knowledge of factors that promote (e.g., help with making the initial prenatal appointment), or that interfere with attending prenatal care (e.g., seeing different care providers at each prenatal appointment) for Hispanic women (Fullerton, Bader, Nelson, & Shannon, 2006).…”

“…Nurses and other public health professionals can build on existing knowledge of factors that promote (e.g., help with making the initial prenatal appointment), or that interfere with attending prenatal care (e.g., seeing di¡erent care providers at each prenatal appointment) for Hispanic women (Fullerton, Bader, Nelson, & Shannon, 2006).…”

Early Postpartum Breastfeeding and Acculturation among Hispanic Women

“…The study also would have been improved with the inclusion of data on previous breastfeeding experience, social support from practitioners and family members, and prenatal education about breastfeeding. Finally, although language is a commonly used proxy measure of acculturation and accounts for a significant amount of variance in measures of acculturation (36,45,46), a more comprehensive measure would have provided valuable information to guide future research and the development of effective interventions (47).…”