birth

Because of its effectiveness in reducing adverse birth outcomes, reducing disparities in access to prenatal care and improving access to timely care for all women has been a U.S. public health priority for the past two decades.

Every other week, The Imprint features one key indicator from Kidsdata, which offers comprehensive data about the health and well being of children across California. This week, we look at the rate at which mothers access prenatal care in their first trimester.

The Conrad H. Hilton Foundation produced a study “linking California birth and child protective services (CPS) records provide insights to teens involved with the child welfare system.” Report shows that teens in the Los Angeles County are more likely and vulnerable to become young parents.

On Lorraine Hargrave’s 16th birthday, she was exactly two weeks from becoming a mother and being removed from her temporary foster home. Back then, she says, most of the group homes in San Francisco didn’t accept teenage mothers.