Prenatal Care in L.A. County

Thanks to the Times for featuring Claire Spiegel’s and Robert Steinbrook’s in-depth reports on prenatal care in Los Angeles County (Part I, Nov. 8 and 9) and for your incisive editorial commentary (“Next Generation at Risk,” Nov. 10). The editorial provides a pragmatic, sensible framework for action at the state level and in Los Angeles County.

L.A. County’s leaders are to be commended for taking several significant steps to begin to deal with the prenatal care problem. The county supervisors’ allocation of $1 million in additional funds for prenatal care, along with the patient fees it will generate, should make it possible to increase prenatal visits by 25% in the next year. Equally promising, the Department of Health Services has agreed to begin contracting for prenatal care with free and community clinics as a cost-effective means of reducing the backlog.

However, there may be some cause for concern about how the additional money is actually spent. No contracts with free and community clinics have yet been signed. And the county is considering spending some of the new prenatal care money on medical equipment and other activities that will do little to reduce the dangerously long waits for prenatal appointments.

The good news is that private sector leaders are beginning to come forward to help develop additional prenatal care services. The county is willing to assist by establishing a “Save the Babies Work Group.” This initiative would enable community leaders in the public and private sectors to work together to develop needed new services and a plan for community outreach.

The sad stories in The Times’ reports in Los Angeles County are found in far too many communities throughout California. In fact, more of these tragedies are occurring every day because public health services are shrinking at the same time that more babies are being born. It is time to develop one unified program in California that provides maternity care to pregnant women. Our state has three separate programs, each with slightly different rules. This makes the system difficult both for patients and medical providers.

WENDY LAZARUS

Director

Southern California Child

Health Network

Los Angeles