“The List” could be scaring pregnant women away from seeking prenatal care.

A handful of Salt Lake County health clinics whose patients include undocumented immigrants have noticed nearly a 20 percent reduction in their first-time prenatal patients this month. Two weeks ago, a list claiming to identify 1,300 people in the country illegally was sent to law enforcement agencies and media outlets.

Appointments have “really dropped off with the controversy around the list,” said Dexter Pearce, executive director of Community Health Centers, an organization that includes four health centers in Salt Lake City, Midvale and Taylorsville.

Their mission is to treat low-income families regardless of their ability to pay. The clinics don’t ask about the patients’ immigration status.

The four community health centers, partially funded with federal and state money, are so full they only accept new patients who are pregnant, along with their families.

But Pearce said the number of new prenatal patients has been dropping since mid-2009 — the same time a state immigration law went into effect requiring agencies that provide government-funded health benefits to verify their patients are U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.

While the law was ultimately determined to not apply to most health care, there was widespread fear among providers that it would frighten people away.

The average number of new patients seen dropped from 150 a month to 133 after the law, Pearce said. This month, he said, the clinics will “be lucky to break 110” patients.

The list, which included other personal information, was accompanied by a letter claiming those named are here illegally and should be deported. Two women who worked for the Department of Workforce Services — which administers food stamps, unemployment benefits and government insurance programs — are thought to have compiled the list from state databases.

Pearce can’t say for sure that “the list” is keeping women away from care. But he is worried.

“Women are still pregnant and without the prenatal care, we’re concerned there’s going to be bad outcomes [for the baby or mother]. Bad outcomes are very expensive for all of us.”

He is considering placing ads on Spanish-language radio stations urging women to get their prenatal care.

“We’re not the government,” he said.

Hospitals have previously reported a decline in births in the state due to the economy, but providers don’t think it explains the reduction in new patients this month.

Mary Ayala, financial aid coordinator for Exodus Healthcare Network, which operates a prenatal clinic in West Valley City where most of the patients are undocumented, said the number of women seeking free pregnancy tests has dropped by about 30 to 113 this month. The numbers dropped by a similar amount earlier this year.

Now, she said, women are a lot more nervous about applying for emergency Medicaid, which covers undocumented pregnant women’s labor and delivery costs.