title: Prenatal care in Brazil.
abstract: This study aims to describe prenatal care provided to pregnant users of the public or private health services in Brazil, using survey data from Birth in Brazil, research conducted from 2011 to 2012. Data was obtained through interviews with postpartum women during hospitalization and information from hand-held prenatal notes. The results show high coverage of prenatal care (98.7%), with 75.8% of women initiating prenatal care before 16 weeks of gestation and 73.1% having six or more number of appointments. Prenatal care was conducted mainly in primary health care units (89.6%), public (74.6%), by the same professional (88.4%), mostly physicians (75.6%), and 96% received their hand-held prenatal notes. A quarter of women were considered at risk of complications. Of the total respondents, only 58.7% were advised about which maternity care service to give birth, and 16.2% reported searching more than one health service for admission in labour and birth. Challenges remain for improving the quality of prenatal care, with the provision of effective procedures for reducing unfavourable outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Elaine Fernandes
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Viellas
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rosa Maria Soares Madeira
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Domingues
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos Augusto Bastos
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Silvana Granado Nogueira da
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Mariza Miranda
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Theme Filha
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Janaina Viana da
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Leal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017149:Private Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017150:Public Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult