The status of prenatal care among Medicaid managed care patients in Connecticut

Providing quality prenatal care to high-risk, pregnant adolescents represen ts an important challenge to health care providers and health plans Using n ational prenatal care guidelines, this study sought to evaluate the quality of important processes and outcomes of prenatal care delivered to women ag e 21 years and younger enrolled in three health plans serving the Connectic ut Medicaid population. Some important findings include 93% compliance with recommended processes of prenatal care, an 11% C-section rate, an average length of hospital stay of 4.0 days for women having a C-Section, and a 10% premature delivery rate. Opportunities for improvement include 40% failing to begin prenatal care in the first trimester, 31% not receiving the recom mended number of prenatal care visits, and 8% delivering a low-birth-weight infant. This study provides important descriptive information on processes and outcomes of care for pregnant adolescents within Medicaid Managed Care and also identifies opportunities for improvement.