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Does the Quality of Prenatal Care Matter in Promoting Skilled Institutional Delivery? A Study in Rural Mexico

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Abstract

Objectives: To determine if the quality of prenatal care predicts skilled institutional delivery, a primary means of reducing maternal mortality. Methods: The probability of skilled institutional delivery is predicted among 4173 rural low-income women of reproductive age in seven Mexican states, as a function of maternal retrospective reports about prenatal care services received in 1997–2003. Results: Women who received most prenatal care procedures were more likely to have a skilled institutional delivery (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.18, 4.44). Women who received less than the 75th percentile of prenatal care procedures were not significantly different from those who received no prenatal care. Conclusions: Policies promoting increased access to prenatal services should be linked to the promotion of practice standards to impact health and behavioral outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

Stefano Bertozzi, Paul Gertler, and the reviewers of this journal provided useful comments; the author remains responsible for all errors and omissions. Funding for this research was provided by NIH Fogarty International Center grant number TW006084

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Business and Economic Research, F502 Haas School of Business, University of California, 94720-1922, 62508 México, Cuernavaca, MorelosBerkeley, USA

    Sarah Barber MPH, DrPH

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  1. Sarah Barber MPH, DrPH
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Correspondence to Sarah Barber MPH, DrPH.

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National Institute of Public Health, Avenue Universidad No. 655

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Barber, S. Does the Quality of Prenatal Care Matter in Promoting Skilled Institutional Delivery? A Study in Rural Mexico. Matern Child Health J 10, 419–425 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-006-0079-x

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