Adequacy of Antenatal Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study with Postpartum Women

Objective:  The present study aimed to evaluate the antenatal care adequacy for women who gave birth at the University Hospital of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis (Brazil) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to evaluate the association of adequacy with sociodemographic, clinical, and access characteristics.

Methods:  Data were collected between October and December 2020, including 254 patients who delivered in the University Hospital from Federal University of Santa Catarina and answered our questionnaires. Additional data were obtained from patients' antenatal booklets. Antenatal care was classified as adequate, intermediate, or inadequate according to the number of appointments, gestational age at the beginning of follow-up, and tests results. We carried out a descriptive statistical analysis and a bivariate/with odds ratio analysis on maternal sociodemographic, clinical and health access variables that were compared with antenatal adequacy.

Results:  Antenatal care was considered adequate in 35.8% of cases, intermediate in 46.8%, and inadequate in 17.4%. The following maternal variables were associated with inadequate prenatal care (intermediate or inadequate prenatal care): having black or brown skin colour, having two or more children, being of foreign nationality, not being fluent in Portuguese, and using illicit drugs during pregnancy; the clinical variables were more than 6 weeks between appointments, and not attending high-risk antenatal care; as for access, the variables were difficulties in attending or scheduling appointments, and attending virtual appointments only.

Conclusion:  In a sample of pregnant women from a teaching hospital in Florianópolis during the COVID-19 pandemic, antenatal care was considered adequate in 35.8%, intermediate in 46.8%, and inadequate in 17.4% of cases.