Prenatal care: knowledge, attitudes and practices of women patients of the Obstetrics Clinic of a hospital in the municipality of S. Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The knowledge, attitudes and practices, in relation to prenatal care, of 404 women patients in the Obstetrics Clinic of a hospital in the municipality of S. Paulo (Brazil) were studied. The period of gestation in which prenatal care started is described in accordance with pregnancy risk as measured by Perkin's method of assessment. This study sets out the reasons with hindered the patients' taking advantage of the services offered by this Clinic during the first trimester of pregnancy or at any time during pregnancy, as well as the inconsistencies between the attitudes and practices of the population sample under review.