Prenatal Class Attendance By Parity Attendance at Health Unit Prenatal Classes First Trimester Visits Primary Care Provider During Pregnancy
Routine visits with a health care provider throughout pregnancy, including the first trimester, are important for the health of a pregnant individual and the soon-to-be newborn infant.
Prenatal classes are offered by a number of local health organizations, and can help pregnant individuals learn about what to expect in the weeks before and after giving birth. For more information, or to register for in-person or online prenatal classes, visit the health unit’s Prenatal Classes webpage.
Data on this page are from the Better Outcomes Registry & Network (BORN) unless otherwise indicated.
Prenatal Class Attendance
All statistics in this section should be interpreted with caution as almost 15% of birth records are missing prenatal class attendance data. Among Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth in 2018, 25.7% (24.4%, 27.0%) attended a prenatal class during their pregnancy. This is higher than the equivalent percentage across Ontario (22.7% (22.5%, 23.0%)). Individuals aged 25 to 34 years old are significantly more likely to report having attended a prenatal class (27.6% (26.0%, 29.2%)) than individuals aged 15 to 24 years (18.7% (15.6%, 22.0%)) or 35 years and older (17.4% (14.8%, 20.1%)). The difference in prenatal class attendance across the two highest age groups is most likely caused by parity and not age itself since a higher percentage of individuals in the middle group are having their first baby compared to in the oldest age group.
By Parity
Among Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth for the first time in 2018, approximately half (51.4% (45.1%, 49.6%)) reported attending a prenatal class during their pregnancy. This is significantly higher than attendance among individualswho had given birth previously(6.9% (6.0%, 8.0%)).
Attendance at Health Unit Prenatal Classes
In 2018, 1061 individuals registered for in-person prenatal classes delivered by the health unit. Almost all of these registrants (97%) lived in Simcoe Muskoka. The health unit also offers online prenatal classes for which 857 individuals registered. Over a quarter (28%) of these registrants lived outside of Simcoe Muskoka.
For more information about attendance at health unit prenatal classes, see our Prenatal Education Infographic.
First Trimester Visits
Among Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth in 2018, 94.0% (93.3%, 94.6%) had a first trimester visit with a health care provider during their pregnancy. This is significantly higher than the Ontario percentage at 92.1% (92.0%, 92.3%). Individuals aged 15-24 years are significantly less likely to have a first trimester visit with a health care provider (90.2% (87.3%, 92.6%) than individuals aged 25-34 years (94.8% (94.0%, 95.5%) and similar to those aged 35 and older (93.4% (91.6%, 94.9%). The percentage of individuals reporting a first trimester visit with a health care provider does not differ significantly between those having their first baby compared to those who had given birth previously.
Primary Care Provider During Pregnancy
A pregnant individual may receive care from multiple health care providers during pregnancy. Among Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth in 2018, the most commonly consulted health care providers were obstetricians with 64.5% (63.2%, 65.8%) of pregnant individuals reporting care from them. This was followed by 49.5% (48.2%, 50.9%) of pregnant individuals receiving care from a family physician, and 24.5% (23.3%, 25.7%) receiving care from a midwife. Individuals aged 35 and older are most likely to receive care from an obstetrician (69.3% (66.2%, 72.1%)) compared to individuals aged 15-24 years (58.8% (54.6%, 62.8%)) and those aged 25-34 (64.1% (62.5%, 65.7%)).
