Failing factors for preterm delivery observed during antenatal care

Abstract

Introduction: Premature birth is the main global cause of infant mortality before 5 years of age and Brazil is 10th in the world ranking of countries with the most premature births. Thus, it is essential to ensure quality care in prenatal consultations, in order to prevent the outcome from being unfavorable or negative, which is reflected in maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates. Objective: To identify through the literature the factors that contribute to the outcome of premature birth observed during prenatal care. Method: integrative review, in the databases of the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME), which was composed of 6 stages, divided into: (1) definition the research question; (2) sampling in the literature; (3) categorization of studies; (4) assessment of included studies; (5) interpretation of results; and (6) presentation of the integrative review. Results: nine articles were selected with a description of the studies included in the integrative review, according to title, authors, year of publication, objective, methodology and conclusion. It is observed that prenatal care as a strong point to avoid prematurity, more according to the data collected from the articles, most women were unaware of the assistance, or found it difficult to access it effectively. Conclusion: Inadequate prenatal care stands out as possible factors associated with premature birth. It is important to identify factors that can be intervened through adequate prenatal care, in order to reduce the unfavorable outcomes resulting from prematurity.