The association between inadequate prenatal care and future healthcare use among offspring in the Bedouin population

Objective: To evaluate the impact of inadequate prenatal care on long-term morbidity among the offspring of an ethnic minority population. Methods: A retrospective population-based cohort analysis was performed among all Bedouin women with singleton pregnancies who delivered in a tertiary medical center in Israel between January 1, 1991, and January 1, 2014. Morbidity was defined as pediatric hospitalization across six distinct disease categories before 18 years of age. The cumulative morbidity rates were compared for offspring born following pregnancies with either inadequate (<3 visits to prenatal care facility) or adequate prenatal care. RESULTS: Overall, 127 396 neonates were included; 19 173 (15.0%) were born following inadequate prenatal care. Pediatric hospitalizations for all morbidities other than cardiovascular ones were less frequent among the inadequate prenatal care group than the adequate prenatal care group (P<0.05). Survival curves demonstrated a lowered cumulative incidence for all morbidities in the inadequate prenatal care group, with the exception of cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: Inadequate prenatal care correlated with reduced pediatric hospitalization rates among offspring, possibly owing to a lack of child healthcare service utilization within the Bedouin population.