Fewer pregnant Georgians are getting prenatal care in the first weeks of pregnancy — or at all, new CDC data show.

Why it matters: Skipping first-trimester care raises the risk of preventable complications for moms and babies.

By the numbers: First-trimester prenatal care rose from 77.1% of U.S. births in 2016 to 78.3% in 2021 — but slid to 75.5% in 2024, per a CDC analysis of birth certificates.

• In Georgia, those receiving late or no prenatal care increased from 7.9% to 11.4% between 2021 and 2024, a 44% increase, per the CDC data.
• Late or no care increased in at least 36 states and D.C. in that same period — rising nationally from 6.3% to 7.3%.
• The shift spanned every age group and nearly all racial and ethnic groups.

What we're hearing: If caught early, conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can often be managed to lower risks for mom and baby — sometimes with "easy interventions" like starting aspirin, says Alex Peahl, OB-GYN and ACOG Fellow.

• As more patients enter pregnancy with chronic conditions, early treatment becomes even more critical.

Between the lines: The growing number of maternity care deserts and hospital closures are the main drivers of the uptick in Georgia, state Department of Public Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam Shirek told Axios.

• 82 counties currently have no OB/GYNs, Nydam said, citing the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce. 108 counties have no labor and delivery facilities.

Zoom in: DPH's free home visit program aims to connect pregnant moms and babies with nurses for the basic check-ups and check-ins that can catch problems early.

• Home visits, which are meant to complement, not replace, OB/GYN visits, are now available in 75 counties. The state will add 21 more counties in the upcoming fiscal year.

The state is also investing in workforce development, including a new medical school in Athens, to increase the number of health care professionals in Georgia.

What we're watching: Whether health systems respond to access pressures by adopting any of ACOG's new tailored prenatal care guidance — coauthored by Peahl — such as streamlining prenatal care for low-risk patients into only eight to nine visits.

You worked hard. You really did!

• Go enjoy the weekend.

🖋️ "The Goth Garden" author Felicia Feaster and SCAD illustration professor Amy Lennertz discuss the gothic movement and "dark gardening." (Thurs.)

📚 Browse thousands of rare books, maps and more at the Atlanta Rare Book Fair at Oglethorpe University. (Fri.-Sun.)

🥁 Afrobeats To the World take over Heaven at Masquerade in Underground Atlanta. (Sat.)

👟 Hit the pavement for the Publix Atlanta Marathon. (Fri.-Sun.)

🪩 Atlanta electronic pioneers STS9 jam for two nights at The Eastern. (Fri.-Sun.)

🎭 The Tony-winning stage "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" plays at the Fox Theatre. (Sat.-March 15)

🧔Legendary ZZ Top frontman Billy F. Gibbons and The BFG Band take the stage at Variety Playhouse. (Sat.)

"I believe that the Beltline is a failure without rail. [The parks, trails and proposed transit loop] is a beautiful thing, but it's also a tourist attraction."

— Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari, addressing MARTA interim general manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt at Wednesday's Transportation Committee meeting, on their desire to see rail run along along the Beltline's Eastside Trail.

State of play: Rail advocates want the transit agency and Mayor Andre Dickens to create a new working agreement that gives Council a seat at the table after the AJC reported city, Beltline and transit agency officials voted in a closed-door meeting to instead build transit along the Southside Trail first.

Zoom in: Bakhtiari, who uses they/them pronouns, said the public's trust in the city's transit expansion program is eroding because officials aren't transparent about Atlanta's priorities.

• "I don't know how we can look our constituents in the face and ask them to trust us," they said. "We aren't keeping promises. It feels like we're continuously gaslighting the public."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is fining the head of an influential Georgia Republican group $500,000 for his alleged role in a Ponzi scheme. (WSB-TV)

💔 A rare wooden baseball stadium in Americus, campground in Covington and a mid-1930s pool at the University of Georgia are some of the new names on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 2026 Places in Peril list. (GTHP)

✋ The Cobb County Commission approved a 180-day time-out on new data centers in unincorporated areas to study the effects of the energy-intensive developments. (Fox 5)