Overview
- CDC birth-certificate data show first-trimester prenatal care fell to 75.5% of births in 2024, down from 78.3% in 2021 after prior years of improvement.
- Later care increased, with second-trimester starts rising to 17.3% and very late or no care climbing to 7.3% in 2024.
- Declines were seen across nearly all racial and ethnic groups, including a drop for Black mothers from 69.7% receiving first‑trimester care in 2021 to 65.1% in 2024.
- Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C., recorded increases in delayed or no care; more than 1 in 10 women had late or no care in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas, while Arkansas, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin showed improvement.
- The report does not assign causes; experts cite provider shortages, maternity unit closures, post‑Roe practice shifts and insurance barriers, and the author said provisional 2025 data hint at improvement pending final figures.