Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health
Population Health Research Brief Series
Prenatal Care for Undocumented Immigrants: Implications for Policy, Practice, and Ethics
Rachel Fabi
January 2020
Nearly 250,000 babies are born each year to undocumented immigrant parents in the U.S. These babies are U.S. citizens, but undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most public insurance, making it difficult for them to access prenatal care. This research brief describes restrictive policies related to prenatal care for undocumented immigrants and discusses how these policies affect health care providers and the care they are able to offer pregnant immigrant women.