Pregnant immigrant women without medical insurance often receive inadequate prenatal care. They are more likely to present late in their pregnancy for care, to receive less prenatal testing, and to receive inadequate prenatal follow-up. There is a documented association between inadequate prenatal care and poor birth outcomes, including preterm delivery and low birth weight. Caring for uninsured women causes stress for physicians and health care teams. A standardized approach to caring for uninsured pregnant women has the potential to improve access to care while providing a framework to healthcare providers that may decrease the tensions that arise within health care teams caring for these patients. We believe that giving uninsured women and the physicians who care for them a voice in constructing a system to address barriers to care is essential. © 2018 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada.

Immigrant Medically uninsured Pregnancy

perception health care cost stress premature labor Note pregnant woman health care system social support prenatal care medically uninsured financial management health care personnel attitude to health low birth weight pregnancy outcome human health care access