Inequality In Postpartum Period Health Care In Brazil

The aim of this paper is to compare the care provided to women in the postpartum period among the regions of the country, using data from the National Program to Improve Access and Quality of Primary Care (Programa para Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básica - PMAQ). This cross-sectional study assessed secondary data from the Primary Health Care Department, collected by external and nationwide evaluation of the first and second stages of PMAQ. The results showed a significantly decreased amount of postpartum consultations (PPCs) and an increased delay between delivery and the first PPC in the Midwest and Southeast regions. House calls performed by community health care agents (Agentes Comunitários de Saúde - ACSs) were remarkably reduced in the Northeast, North and Midwest regions. The Northeast was the region where ACSs performed the most house calls, in both PMAQ stages. During this period, the indicators analyzed in this study presented an important deterioration in Brazil as a whole, with a decrease in the number of PPCs and house calls and an increase in the number of days before the first PPC.