[Criteria for choosing health care facilities for prenatal care in Pelotas, RS, Brazil].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prenatal care delivered to a representative sample of mothers, identifying the health care facility they attended and to explore the reasons that led them to choose that specific health facility.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted at four maternity hospitals in Pelotas, in Southern Brazil, from March to April 1997. A total of 401 mothers were interviewed at the hospital, immediately after delivery.


RESULTS
The majority of mothers (51%) were followed up at a primary health care facility (PHCF). The main reported reason for choosing a PHCF was its geographic accessibility (46.8%). For 85% of the mothers, the nearest health service was a PHCF. However, 52.2% of them did not attend the consultations at this setting mainly because of a supposed low quality care (37.4%). Except for immunization with tetanus toxoids, all other usual prenatal care procedures recommended by the local health ministry, including promotion of breastfeeding, were performed less frequently at the PHCF than in other health care settings.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the high coverage of the public prenatal care program, efforts should be made to improve the quality of care delivered to pregnant women, mainly by encouraging health professionals, especially doctors, to follow the established guidelines.
Santos
I S
IS
Departamento de Medicina Social, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brasil. inasantos@uol.com.br
Baroni
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RC
Minotto
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I
Klumb
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AG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004496:Education, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors