Perinatal Health Data Dashboard
Trimester when Prenatal Care Started Overview
Perinatal Health Data Homepage
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Interactive data on trimester when prenatal care started
Data over time
By areas of Minnesota
By race/ethnicity and foreign-born
Resources
Prenatal care is health care people receive when pregnant. Trimesters are time periods in pregnancy that are measured by the number of weeks a person has been pregnant. There are three trimesters: first trimester (start of pregnancy to 13 weeks and 6 days), second trimester (14 weeks and 0 days to 27 weeks and 6 days), and third trimester (28 weeks and 0 days to 40 weeks and 6 days).
Starting prenatal care during the first trimester is important. It gives more time to check the growth and health of the baby and the health of the mother/birthing parent. It is also a time when health care providers can ask mothers about their past health, current habits, and mothers can ask health care providers about their baby and how to stay healthy while pregnant.
High quality prenatal care helps a family prepare for a baby and for the time after delivery (postpartum). This care includes education, health care visits, and connecting families to resources.
Data over time
The percent of Minnesota mothers/birthing parents who started prenatal care during the first trimester remained fairly stable from 2020 to 2024.
Source: Minnesota resident final birth file, 2020 - 2024
- Minnesota: In 2024, 78.5% of mothers/birthing parents started prenatal care in the first trimester. This is about 79 out of 100 mothers/birthing parents.
- United States: In 2024, 74.0% of mothers/birthing parents started prenatal care in the first trimester. This is about 74 out of 100 mothers/birthing parents.
By areas of Minnesota
Starting prenatal care early during pregnancy can be harder for some people for many reasons, such as: the cost of health care, not having health insurance, or not having a way to get to the doctor. The percent of mothers/birthing parents who started prenatal care in their first trimester was different in areas throughout the state.
The percent of mothers/birthing parents who started prenatal care in their first trimester was different across areas of Minnesota, from 2020 to 2024.
Source: Minnesota resident final birth file, 2020 - 2024
From 2020 to 2024:
- The West Central area of Minnesota had the lowest percent of mothers/birthing parents start prenatal care in their first trimester, at 52.2%.
- The Northeast area of Minnesota had the highest percent of mothers/birthing parents start prenatal care in their first trimester, at 86.9%.
By race/ethnicity and foreign-born
United States-born American Indian and Alaska Native mothers/birthing parents in Minnesota had the lowest percent of starting prenatal care during the first trimester from 2020 to 2024.
Source: Minnesota resident final birth file, 2020 - 2024
Some mothers/birthing parents are more likely to start prenatal care later during their pregnancies. From 2020 to 2024, in Minnesota:
- 53.5% of U.S.-born American Indian or Alaska Native mothers/birthing parents started prenatal care in their first trimester.
- 81.9% of all U.S.-born mothers/birthing parents started prenatal care in their first trimester.
Resources
See more by going to the interactive data.
American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (2024, January). How your fetus grows during pregnancy. Retrieved September 11, 2026, from How your fetus grows during pregnancy | American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Natality on CDC WONDER Online Database. Data are from the Natality Records 2016-2024, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at CDC: National Vital Statistics System, Natality on CDC WONDER Online Database on Aug 21, 2026 11:47:25 AM