Assistência ao parto normal no Estado de Pernambuco: aspectos geográficos, socioeconômicos e profissionais, com ênfase no papel da enfermeira

Abstract

The study analyzed the assistance to normal delivery by different health professionals, according geographic and socioeconomic aspects of the women assisted. Database from the II State Research on Health and Nutrition (1997) was utilized from a survey based on a population of 2,078 children less than five years of age, among whom 1,459 mothers had experienced normal delivery, from the Metropolitan Area of the Municipality of Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, in the inland both Urban and the Rural areas. It was found that 52.2% of deliveries were assisted by midwives, 34.5% by doctors and 13.2% by nurses. Care distribution according to professional category varied significantly due to geographic location, family income, parturient's schooling, and previous access to pre-natal treatments. It was concluded that assistance to normal delivery was substantively conditioned by socioeconomic and environmental factors. The study represents a baseline for a new assessment after ten years.