Roundup: More Pregnant Women are Delaying Prenatal Care; and More News

Fewer U.S. Mothers Are Starting Prenatal Care During First Trimester, CDC Reports

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a concerning shift regarding when pregnant women begin prenatal care. After years of improvement, fewer women are starting care during the first three months of pregnancy — a critical time-frame for a baby’s development.

Why Early Prenatal Care Matters

Prenatal care refers to medical checkups and support during pregnancy. Doctors monitor the baby’s growth, check the mother’s health, screen for complications, and provide guidance on nutrition and lifestyle. The first trimester (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy) is especially important because major organs are forming and early health problems can be detected.

What The New Data Show

Using national birth certificate data, the CDC found that the percentage of mothers who began prenatal care in the first trimester rose slightly from 77.1 percent in 2016 to 78.3 percent in 2021. However, that progress has reversed. By 2024, only 75.5 percent of mothers started care in the first trimester — the lowest level recorded since 2016.

At the same time:

• Care starting in the second trimester (months 4–6) increased from 15.4 percent in 2021 to 17.3 percent in 2024.
• Late or no care — meaning care that began in the seventh month or later, or not at all — increased from 6.3 percent to 7.3 percent.

Although these percentage changes may seem small, they represent tens of thousands of pregnancies nationwide.

Teens And Young Mothers Most Affected

All age groups saw declines in early care, but the biggest drop occurred among mothers under age 20. In 2021, 61.6 percent of teens began care in the first trimester. By 2024, that fell to 56.7 percent. Teens also had the highest rates of late or no care (14.8 percent in 2024).

Women ages 30–39 were most likely to start care early, but even in this group, first-trimester care declined.

Differences By Race And Ethnicity

Nearly all racial and ethnic groups experienced declines in early care between 2021 and 2024.

• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander mothers had the lowest rate of first-trimester care in 2024, at 47.6 percent.
• Black mothers saw first-trimester care drop from 69.7 percent to 65.1 percent.
• Hispanic mothers declined from 72.5 percent to 67.8 percent.
• White and Asian mothers continued to have the highest rates overall, though both groups also saw decreases.

Late or no care increased for most groups, with particularly sharp rises among Asian, Black, and Hispanic mothers.

Late or no prenatal care increased in 36 states and Washington, D.C. In 2024, more than 1 in 10 mothers received late or no care in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Improving Access to Prenatal Care

Health experts emphasize that starting prenatal care early improves the chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby. The recent decline may reflect barriers such as cost, insurance gaps, provider shortages, transportation issues, or delayed recognition of pregnancy.

The CDC findings highlight a growing need to improve access to timely prenatal care — especially for teens, minority communities, and families in states with rising rates of delayed care.

Report: Millions Don’t Know Heart-Disease Risk Starts Outside the Heart

When one thinks about heart disease, clogged arteries or chest pain are likely to come to mind. But according to a new report from the American Heart Association (AHA), many of the biggest risks for heart disease actually begin elsewhere in the body and “beyond the heart” — especially in blood sugar and kidneys. And most adults are not aware of this fact, the AHA stresses.

The AHA is urging people to pay attention to a group of connected conditions that often go undiagnosed.

The Hidden Risks: Diabetes and Kidney Disease

Diabetes and chronic kidney disease are two major risk factors for heart disease. Yet millions of Americans don’t know they have them.

The AHA’s 2026 statistics update reports that nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults with diabetes are unaware of their condition. Even more concerning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 9 in 10 adults with chronic kidney disease don’t know they have it.

These conditions often develop silently. High blood sugar (glucose) may not cause noticeable symptoms at first. Early kidney disease also rarely causes pain or obvious warning signs. Meanwhile, damage may already be occurring — increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

How the Heart, Kidneys and Metabolism Are Connected

Doctors use the term cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome to describe the link between heart disease, kidney disease and metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity.

“Metabolic” refers to how your body uses and stores energy. When this system is out of balance — for example, due to high blood sugar, excess body weight or abnormal cholesterol — it puts strain on both the heart and the kidneys.

These conditions share common risk factors, including:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• High blood sugar
• Excess weight, especially around the waist
• Reduced kidney function

Having one of these issues increases the chances of developing the others.

The Importance of Screening

The good news: up to 80 percent of heart attacks and strokes are preventable, according to the AHA.

Regular screening can catch problems early. Tests may include:

• Blood pressure checks
• A cholesterol panel, including LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol and triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood)
• Blood sugar testing, either fasting glucose or A1C (a measure of average blood sugar over three months)
• Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference
• Kidney tests, including:
• uACR, a urine test that detects protein leakage — an early sign of kidney damage
• eGFR, a blood test that measures how well your kidneys filter waste

Experts note that kidney screening is often overlooked, especially the uACR urine test. Two-thirds of people with high blood pressure or diabetes may not realize they also have kidney disease.

Know Your Numbers

About half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, one in three has high cholesterol, and more than half have prediabetes or diabetes.

Because risk factors develop slowly and quietly, health experts say nearly everyone can benefit from routine screening. Talk with your healthcare professional about your numbers and your overall risk — not just your heart, but your full cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health.

New Study Links Air Pollution Directly to Alzheimer's Risk

A major new study has found a direct link between long-term exposure to air pollution and an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The research, which analyzed health data from nearly 28 million older Americans, suggests that improving air quality could be a key strategy in preventing dementia.

The study, published in PLOS Medicine, focused on fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5. These are tiny, inhalable particles from sources like vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, and smoke. When breathed in, they can enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, including to the brain.

Researchers followed U.S. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older for nearly two decades, from 2000 to 2018. They compared the levels of PM2.5 pollution in participants' residential areas with their health records. Over the study period, about 3 million people were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The findings showed a clear connection: higher exposure to PM2.5 was associated with a greater risk of developing the disease.

Does Air Pollution Affect Alzheimer’s Risk Directly?

Scientists have long known that common health conditions like high blood pressure (hypertension), stroke, and depression are risk factors for Alzheimer's. A key question for this study was whether air pollution increased Alzheimer's risk by causing these other conditions first. Researchers found this was not the case.

While air pollution was linked to higher rates of hypertension, stroke, and depression, these conditions only explained a very small portion of the air pollution-Alzheimer's connection. This suggests that fine particulate matter likely harms the brain directly, rather than working through these other health problems. The researchers believe this may happen through processes like brain inflammation or direct damage to brain cells and blood vessels.

The Importance of Cleaner Air for Brain Health

The study did note one exception. The link between air pollution and Alzheimer's was slightly stronger in people who had previously suffered a stroke. This may mean that individuals with a history of stroke are even more vulnerable to the brain-damaging effects of polluted air.

The study’s conclusion: cleaning up our air is not just about respiratory health — it's also about protecting our brains as we age. The findings highlight the urgent need for public health policies aimed at reducing air pollution as a way to help prevent Alzheimer's disease and support healthy aging for millions, researchers state.