PURPOSE: to evaluate the characteristics regarding care of Bolivian pregnant women and their outcomes in Hospital Municipal Vereador José Storopolli. METHODS: a cross-sectional retrospective case-control study comparing two groups of pregnant women from 2003 to 2007. The Study Group included 312 Bolivian pregnant women and the Control Group, 314 Brazilian women. The groups were compared with respect to demographic variables, the presence of maternal complications and perinatal outcomes. Statistical analysis was performed by χ2 test and, when necessary, by applying Yates' correction. RESULTS: compared to Brazilian mothers, a smaller number of Bolivian women received prenatal care (16.4 versus 5.1%, p<0.001) and among those that did, the percentage of those who had less than five visits was higher (50 versus 19.3%, p<0.001). Compared to the Brazilian group, the Bolivian group had fewer unwed mothers (12.1 versus 25.4%, p<0.001) and a lower number of nulliparous women (34.1 versus 43.6%, p=0.017). Congenital syphilis had a higher incidence in the Bolivian group (2.9 versus 0.5%, p<0.05), as well as a higher number of newborns classified as large for gestational age (14.6 versus 5.8%, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the failure to attend prenatal care or its completion with an inadequate number of consultations, and the higher number of cases of congenital syphilis observed among the Bolivian women show the great vulnerability of this ethnic minority group to health problems. Consequently, it is necessary a strategic planning of the sectors responsible for coordinating assistance in our country, in order to reduce this disparity, either through socio-economic improvements or by the implementation of health care tailored to the needs of this group.
Ethnic groups; Pre-eclampsia; Prenatal care
