Cite reasons that some women do not seek prenatal care

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Inadequate care is far more common among adolescent and low-income, ethnic minority mothers. Although government-sponsored health services for low-income pregnant women have been expanded, some do not qualify and must pay for at least part of their care. Besides financial hardship, some mothers have situational barriers, including difficulty finding a doctor, getting an appointment, and arranging transportation, and insensitive or unsatisfying experiences with clinic staff. Other mothers have personal barriers, including psychological stress, the demands of taking care of other young children, family crises, lack of knowledge about the signs of pregnancy and benefits of prenatal care, and ambivalence about the pregnancy. Many also engage in high-risk behaviors, such as smoking and drug abuse, which they do not want to reveal to health professionals.