AUTHOR=Vilca Luz Maria , Sarno Laura , Passoni Davide , Antonazzo Patrizio , Pellegrini Edda , Guida Maurizio , Cesari Elena , Cetin Irene 

TITLE=Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prenatal Care Utilization Among Italian and Immigrant Pregnant Women: A Multicenter Survey

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=69

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1606289

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2024.1606289

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> To compare the utilization of prenatal services between immigrant and Italian women during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A cross-sectional survey was conducted at 3 maternity care centers in Italy.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> We included 1,312 women, 1,198 (91.3%) were Italian and 114 (8.7%) were immigrants. A significantly higher proportion of Italians underwent 8 or more prenatal care visits (64.4% vs. 54.4%, <italic>p</italic> = 0.03) and more immigrants than Italians attended their appointments at hospital settings (45% vs. 18%, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Regarding prenatal course, Italians were more likely than immigrants to attend a non-hospital setting or an online class (49.6% and 30.2% vs. 34.9% and 11.6%, <italic>p</italic> = 0.008). A higher influenza vaccine uptake among immigrants compared with Italians was observed (39.5% vs. 19.8%, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Among women not receiving certain prenatal services, immigrants were more likely to state COVID-19 pandemic was the main reason for non-compliance.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Immigrant pregnant women were more likely to receive prenatal services at a hospital setting than their Italian counterparts. Among women who did not comply with prenatal services, immigrants were more likely to cite the pandemic as their main reason.</p>