Adequacy of prenatal care for women in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais – Brazil

Abstract

Prenatal care is directly related to the health levels of mothers and their children, since the absence or low quality of this care is associated with the highest maternal mortality rate and the results of birth. Having prenatal assessment data, in a region, makes it possible to plan, allocate resources, and improve the assistance offered. This study aimed to assess the adequacy of prenatal care according to data on the pregnant woman's Maternity Card and the adapted Kessner Index. This is a cross-sectional study based on the card data of 309 parturient women seen from July to September 2018. The prevalence of adequate prenatal care was 78.6%, 196 (63.4%) started follow-up before the 13th week of pregnancy, and (88.7%) had more than six consultations. The quality of this assistance was associated with education (p=0.02), marital status (p=0.01), pregnancy planning (p<0.001), and the number of children (p=0.01) of the parturient. Of the puerperal women, only nine (2.9%) reported having planned the current pregnancy. The Maternity Card of 55 pregnant women (17.8%) were incomplete for several variables. Prenatal care proved to be adequate due to the Kessner index, and is influenced by the higher level of education, the stable union of the couple, the previous planning of the pregnancy, and the experience of already having one to two children.

Keywords

• maternal health. prenatal care. pregnant women. humanization of care. quality of health care.