Nursing Care in late prenatal: Consequences for the maternal-child binomial.

Abstract

Prenatal consultations are extremely important for the proper development of pregnancy, as it is during this time that the fetus's growth is monitored. For this reason, it is essential that prenatal care begins in the first trimester. Prenatal care is an important public health indicator and directly involves the assistance provided by professionals. Objective: The study aims to highlight the negative consequences of late initiation of prenatal care and the most recurrent causes in the literature, analyzing how nurses assist during this period. Methodology: It is a systematic literature review study conducted through research in the Virtual Health Library and databases such as Scielo, Google Scholar, PubMed, and others, carried out in February 2024. Data collection was performed by searching for complete or reviewed scientific articles published in Portuguese in the last 10 years. Results: Thirteen articles relevant to the topic were found, divided into two distinct subthemes: one focusing on the consequences of late prenatal care and the other focusing on related causes. Based on the analyzed data, it was established that inadequate prenatal care, especially when initiated late, brings negative consequences not only for the fetus but also for the pregnant woman. The causes of late initiation of prenatal care are avoidable, primarily through health education and early population engagement. Conclusion: However, it can be concluded that several factors are predominant in the negative outcome of prenatal care. Nevertheless, lack of access to services, low educational attainment, and socioeconomic factors are mostly determinants and conditioners of this population's health, and the assistance provided can, in some way, change this reality.