Analysis of the quality of the prenatal assistance to hypertensive pregnants in the south region of São Paulo's municipal district in 2008

As Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) has a very high incidence and causes a variety of serious consequences, an adequate program of maternal health during the prenatal period has an extreme importance. The PIH is a syndrome frequently related to maternal and neonatal mortality. Thus, the prenatal health care must be stimulated since the beginning of the pregnancy, helping identify risk factors and promoting preventive actions to preserve the mother’s and child’s health. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of the medical assistance during the prenatal period to pregnants with PIH, in the South Region of São Paulo’s Municipal District in 2008. This purpose was accomplished by developing a transversal study, survey-like. A questionnaire was applied to each PIH pregnant studied, after her signature to a Free and Informed Consent. Subsequent to collecting data, the results were organized and computed table-form by a software named EpiInfo. As a result to the questionnaire applied, a high level of unexpected pregnancy (70%) was obtained, enabling an association with the low level of scholarity (44.2% without primary education) of the pregnants involved. Furthermore, although 95% of pregnants referred having a partner, most were not married, disclosing the lack of family planning and the high quantity of unexpected pregnancies, contributing to miscarriages and stillborns (28.1%). In addition, a low percentage of pregnants (35%) had attended the preconized number of prenatal consultations, however, the majority of them were aware of the importance of the prenatal care. This suggests that the problem is not only a matter of public health but also involves the poor educational system implemented.