From November 1989 to May 1991, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was investigated in 795 women coming from the Public Health Services, who were divided into three groups: 490 pregnant women in pre-natal care period, 104 after-delivery women and 201 non-pregnant women (control). Coproparasitologic tests were run using the Sedimentation through Centrifugation, Faust, Kato-Katz and Baermann-Moraes methods. Positivities were found ranging from 37.6% to 53.6% for pregnant women, 38.3% for non-pregnant women and 69.2% for after-delivery women, with statistically significant differences between the rates of pregnant women and after-delivery women, and with no statistic difference between the groups of pregnant and non-pregnant women. The most frequent parasites found were A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura. The conclusion was that the control of intestinal parasitosis is not a priority in the pregnant population studied because, in spite of the regular assistance provided during the pre-natal care period, they keep on infected .
Intestinal Parasites; Pregnant Women; Ascaris lumbricoides; Trichuris trichiura; Epidemiology
