OBJECTIVES: to classify puerperas admitted in two charity maternities in the municipality of São Paulo according to social and demographic data, sexual and reproductive health behavior, information and practices related to AIDS. METHODS: descriptive, exploratory study with 384 puerperas interviewed during hospital stay. Descriptive statistics was used. RESULTS: 85% of the women initiated sexual intercourse during adolescence; 48% were illiterate or had dropped out of elementary school; 60% were from families with incomes below five minimum wages; 71% were catholic and 78% lived with their partners out of wedlock; 84% submited to anti-HIV test, but 61% did not change the behavior related to AIDS epidemic. CONCLUSIONS: the risk to HIV exposure was established because of the following factors: reduced number of women adopting safe sex procedures, women not having information on their partners behavior outside their home; early sexual initiation, Papanicolau tests rarely performed, presence of STD and drug use. Cultural factors influence this situation as well as attitudes related to prevention and health control.
Womens's health; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Reproductive medicine; HIV
