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This was a descriptive and retrospective study of 2,117 deliveries from January 2002 to July 2003 at the Dr. David Capistrano da Costa Filho Birthing Center in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Widespread questions have been raised concerning the quality of services provided at birthing centers by obstetric nurses. The results of the current study were: 11.4% maternal transfer rate; 2.2% cesarean sections; 1.2% neonatal ICU admissions; and 1% 5-minute Apgar scores below 7. Delivery dystocia and the request for epidural anesthesia were the main reasons for maternal transfer, and respiratory distress was the main cause of neonatal ICU admission. Corrected neonatal mortality was 2 per 1,000 live births. The results at this birthing center did not differ significantly from those in a review of the international literature. The most striking finding was the low cesarean rate. Comparative studies and more comprehensive national data on low-risk gestations are needed.

This study aimed at verifying the institutions where pregnant, parturient and puerperal women were given care. It also aimed at identifying the nurses who participate in such caregiving, the activities performed and the problems faced by them and their level of satisfaction at work. Seventy-four nurses were interviewed in the 35 institutions found in Sorocaba, of whom 27% were specialists and 28% were qualified obstetricians. The others had not been trained in that area. The major problems reported were the lack of skills to perform prenatal nursing consultations, shortage of staff and materials and the accumulation of. Seventy-three percent of the interviewees reported to be satisfied in relation to their jobs.