OBJECTIVES: to characterize prenatal care at Basic Health Units regarding health workers and users in the municipality of João Pessoa, in the Brazilian State of Paraíba. METHODS: a cross-sectional, analytical-descriptive study was carried out. In order to characterize prenatal care, a specific tool was developed based on the guidelines of the Humanization of Prenatal Care and Birth Program, gathering together questions under the headings, structure, process and results. RESULTS: satisfactory infrastructure was found in the case of most services. In the case of the process, the study identified a low level of adherence to the minimal requirements of the Humanization of Prenatal Care and Childbirth Program (39.92%), and a low proportion of services including health education (45.5%) and internal evaluation (47.7%). In terms of the results of care, a high percentage of pregnant women with clinical irregularities (60.9%), inadequate nutritional status (56.3% overweight or obese) and a low level of exclusive maternal breastfeeding (58.05 ± 34.19 days) were observed. CONCLUSIONS: aspects of the process relating to prenatal care, the existence of services incorporating health education and internal evaluation indicators and the issue of results involving clinical irregularities, inadequate nutritional status during pregnancy and low levels of exclusive maternal breastfeeding stand in the way of achieving high quality in primary prenatal healthcare.
Prenatal care; Primary health care; Quality of health care
