The First Steps Program: 1989-1997

This report summarizes program services and outcomes for initial years of the First Steps Program, which serves low-income pregnant women in Washington State. According to indicators, Washington women have had better prenatal care and better birth outcomes since First Steps began than before its implementation in 1989. This report summarizes program services and outcomes through 1997, the most recent year for which data are available. Further measures suggest that prenatal care has improved, provider willingness to accept Medicaid patients has increased, and there is a greater demand for prenatal services provided by First Steps clinics, community and migrant health centers, teaching hospitals, and established obstetric practitioners. Remarkably, the proportion of all Washington women with no prenatal care declined by 54% between 1989 and 1994.