Scheduling the first prenatal visit: office-based delays

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the office-based component of delayed entry into prenatal care. STUDY DESIGN: Phone numbers for all obstetrics offices in a single state were obtained from a commercial list. A research assistant who posed as a newly pregnant, fully insured woman asked each clinic when she should come in for her first prenatal visit. RESULTS: Information was provided by 239 of the 279 (86%) offices. The recommended appointment times ranged from immediately (4 weeks of gestation) to 10.6 weeks, which averaged 6.37 weeks. Twenty-five percent of clinics recommended a first appointment at >= 8 weeks. Scheduling calls were not a source of prenatal advice: <5% of clinics asked about smoking, alcohol, or medical condition; 88% of clinics did not mention vitamins. CONCLUSION: Office-based delays in scheduling the first prenatal visit occur in a substantial proportion of clinics, even for fully insured women. There is a need for a standard source of advice in early pregnancy.