[Assessment of adherence to the Safe Childbirth Checklist in a public maternity hospital in Northeast Brazil]

Decreasing childbirth-related mortality is a current global health priority. The World Health Organization developed the Safe Childbirth Checklist to reduce adverse events in maternal and perinatal care, using simple and effective practices. The current study aims to evaluate adherence to the checklist by professionals in a maternity hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. The study used an observational, cross-sectional approach to evaluate all births in three months, with data collected from patient charts. Adherence was described on the basis of presence and quality of the checklist's completion, and bivariate analysis was performed using the association with childbirth-related factors. Of 978 patient charts that were reviewed, 71% had the list, an average of 24% of the items were completed, but only 0.1% of the patient charts were totally completed; better completion was seen in vaginal deliveries and at the time of patient admission. Checklist adherence showed limitations that are inherent to the adoption of a new safety routine and requires continuous training of the health professionals to achieve better results.