[Evaluation of the quality of care for normal delivery]

To evaluate the quality of health care assistance during childbirth in the hospitals of Goiânia, in Brazil.

Thirteen hospitals were appraised from April to December 2007, and a random sample of 404 normal births was studied. Data were obtained from interviews with mothers after delivery and by consulting their medical records. The quality of assistance at birth was evaluated by using the Bologna score and by comparing the procedures used in those hospitals to standard recommended practices.

The Bologna score presented an average value of 1.04 (95%CI=0.9-1.1). The elective caesarian rate was 30%, the emergency caesarian rate was 10%, and the rate of induced childbirth was 1.6% The percentage of childbirths attended by health care professionals was 100%, but pediatricians in the delivery room were present only in 30% of the time. During labor, half of the women had no evaluation of the uterine dynamics and 29% had no auscultation fetal monitoring. The partogram was used for only 28.5% of the women, whereas the use of oxytocin was 45.8%.

The results indicate a poor quality of childbirth care with low values of the Bologna score, high elective and emergency caesarians rates, a high number of unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions, and an insufficient frequency of beneficial interventions.