BCF Understanding Brookline

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Early Prenatal Care

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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What does this measure?

The number of births to women who initiated prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy (before 13 weeks gestation), expressed as a percentage of all live births.

Why is this important?

Early, high-quality prenatal care is critical to reducing risks for complications of pregnancy or birth and improving birth outcomes.

How is Norfolk County doing?

In 2021, 91% of births were to women who began prenatal care early, up from 89% in 2016. This is higher than both the state and national rates of 84% and 77% respectively.

Norfolk County also had higher rates than Essex and Middlesex counties, both at 86% in 2021.

Notes about the data

The rate excludes live births for which the date of entry into prenatal care is unknown. In addition to considering when prenatal care began, it is also important to understand the quality and continuity of care received throughout the pregnancy.

Early Prenatal Care

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Norfolk County	89%	88%	90%	90%	91%	91%
Essex County	79%	79%	79%	78%	86%	86%
Middlesex County	86%	84%	85%	85%	87%	86%
Massachusetts	83%	82%	82%	83%	84%	84%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Percent of live births for which mothers received prenatal care beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Number of Births with Early Prenatal Care

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Norfolk County	6,330	5,932	6,109	6,292	5,951	6,424
Essex County	6,364	6,544	6,299	6,283	6,648	6,989
Middlesex County	14,329	13,582	13,822	13,573	13,287	13,455
Massachusetts	57,937	56,189	56,017	56,223	54,946	57,160

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Notes: Number of births for which mothers received prenatal care beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Health Indicators

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INDICATORS	TREND
Change in Total Population	1 Increasing
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Language Diversity	1 Increasing
Foreign-Born Population	1 Increasing
Population by Age	1 Increasing
People with Disabilities	1 Increasing
Voter Registration	-1 Decreasing
Voter Participation	1 Increasing
Arrest Rate by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Change in Total Jobs	10 Not Applicable*
Unemployment Rate	10 Not Applicable*
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Living Wage	10 Not Applicable*
Median Household Income	0 Maintaining
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Income in Relation to Poverty Level	-1 Decreasing
People Living in Poverty	1 Increasing
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
People Living in Poverty by Age	-1 Decreasing
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Females Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
Seniors Living in Poverty	1 Increasing
Share of Workers who are Professionals by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Access to Financial Services by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Student Performance on Grade 3 English by Student Subgroup	10 Not Applicable*
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	10 Not Applicable*
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Overall Housing Cost Burden	-1 Decreasing
Median Home Value	0 Maintaining
Median Home Value by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Cost of Homeownership	1 Increasing
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Cost of Renting	1 Increasing
Cost of Rent by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Households Receiving SNAP	1 Increasing
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
Food Insecurity	10 Not Applicable*
Households Without Vehicles	1 Increasing
Means of Transportation to Work by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Protected Land	10 Not Applicable*
Percent of Days with Good Air Quality	10 Not Applicable*
Early Prenatal Care	10 Not Applicable*
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Drug Poisoning Mortality Rate	10 Not Applicable*
Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions	10 Not Applicable*
People 65 or Older Living Alone	1 Increasing
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Arrest Rate by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	0 Maintaining
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Females Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
Share of Workers who are Professionals by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Student Performance on Grade 3 English by Student Subgroup	10 Not Applicable*
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	10 Not Applicable*
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity	1 Increasing
Median Home Value by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Cost of Rent by Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity	-1 Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	10 Not Applicable*