Prevalence of prenatal care in pregnant women in southern Brazil school hospital

Abstract

Objective: To identify prevalence of prenatal appointments among pregnant women at a Teaching Hospital in southern Brazil. Method: descriptive, cross-sectional observational study, in which data obtained from 606 pregnant women were analyzed, referring to prenatal care at a teaching hospital in Pelotas. Socioeconomic and gestational variables were analyzed and classified in order to obtain the study objective  and the socioeconomic profile of women. Results: The majority of participants received prenatal care (98.2%) initiating at appropriate time (59.4%). Regarding the number of consultations, 17.4% had more than 11, 47.7% from 7 to 10, 25.1% from 4 to 6 and 9.8% less than 4. In relation to the socioeconomic profile, the majority of participants were between 20 and 24 years old (27.3%), were white (64.6%), had completed primary education (54%), had a partner (89.8%). Regarding gestational variables, 35.5% had only one previous pregnancy, 54.6% did not plan the current pregnancy and 56% had a low-risk pregnancy. Conclusion: the study achieved its objective, with the majority having an adequate number of prenatal consultations (65.1% had more than 7 consultations).