Maternity care for Hispanic women who cross to the United States side of the Mexico border.

Medical chart abstracts and interviews were conducted among 587 Hispanic women within the first 72 hours following childbirth in any of five hospitals in San Diego County in 1991-1992. Demographic and maternal/infant obstetrical outcome data from 83 women who admitted that they had crossed the US/ Mexico Border to receive reproductive health services were compared with data from women who did not cross the Border. Border crossers were younger, less conversant in English, and more financially vulnerable. Several barriers existed for women in both groups that prevented entering and remaining within prenatal care programmes. Outcome data were favorable despite these adverse risk factors.