Regional differences and factors associated with the number of prenatal visits in Brazil: analysis of the Information System on Live Births in 2013.

Objective:: To investigate factors associated with seven or more prenatal visits, in Brazil, in 2013.

Methods:: Cross-sectional study from the database of Information System on Live Births. The association of explanatory variables was tested with prenatal visits by means of the analysis of single and multiple multinomial regressions. The spatial distribution of prenatal visits according to the Brazilian municipalities was also analyzed.

Results:: It was found that 2.7% of pregnant women attended no prenatal visit and 63.1% attended 7 or more. The chance to attend 7 or more prenatal visits was higher among pregnant women aged 40 years or more, with 12 years or more of schooling, living with a roommate, living in the South and Southeast regions, who had a triplet or more pregnancy, with gestational age of 42 weeks or more, and who had children with normal birth weight. Significant regional disparities were identified in the prevalence of women with seven or more prenatal visits.

Conclusion:: Although Brazil has a Unified Health System that provides universal prenatal care, the use of this service is uneven according to geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics.