Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
to assess the adequacy of prenatal care offered to pregnant health service users in Aracaju, Sergipe State, Brazil, according to family income.
METHODS:
this was a cross-sectional study with 322 women living in the city of Aracaju whose children were born in November and December 2011; data were collected using questionnaires, including number of consultations, technical and laboratory procedures recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH); adequacy of prenatal care was assessed according to MoH criteria; chi-square test was used to compare proportions between categorical variables.
RESULTS:
prenatal care was considered inadequate for 89.1% of women, with no statistical difference for inadequacy of prenatal care according to family income (p=0.323).
CONCLUSION:
low adequacy of prenatal care was found when applying MoH parameters, regardless of pregnant women's family income.
Key words:
Prenatal Care; Quality of Health Care; Income; Health Inequalities; Cross-Sectional Studies
