Pregnant Mothers

The State of Illinois annually studies the health of a representative sample of new mothers. Since 1993, it has participated in the CDC’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), which asks about pre, peri, and post-natal health and health behaviors. While the survey has grown and changed over the years, oral health topics have been included since 1997.

Observations

• Since data collection began in 2009, between 40-50% of Illinois women have said they had a teeth cleaning in the year before pregnancy.
• High-income mothers were twice as likely to have a teeth cleaning than those with low-incomes. Non-Medicaid recipients were also twice as likely to report a cleaning than Medicaid recipients.
• Surveyed women in their 20s were least likely to have had a cleaning, at 47%. Almost 70% of women over the age of 35 had a cleaning.

Technical Notes

Percentages are displayed as a weighted percentage of Illinois mothers giving birth to live infants from 2009-2014 who responded YES to the question. Medicaid recipients are defined as those for whom Medicaid paid for their delivery.