Trends in sociodemographic inequalities in prenatal care in ‘Baixada Litorânea’ of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2000-2020: an ecological study

Abstract

Objective: To analyze trends of sociodemographic inequalities in access and utilization of prenatal care in the ‘Baixada Litorânea’ of Rio de Janeiro, 2000-2020. Methods: Ecological study –Time series – of number of visits and adequacy of access to prenatal care. Absolute (differences) and relative (ratios) inequalities were estimated between extreme variable categories. Trends were estimated by Joinpoint regression. Results: 185,242 women were studied. The proportion of ≥7 visits increased, 2.9% (CI95% 0.7;5.1), annually, between 2013 (54.4%) and 2020 (64.7%), stable for women with < 8 years of education. Adequacy of access increased 2.6% (CI95% 1.2;4.0), stable in ≥35 years-old women, and in those with ≥12 years of education. Absolute inequalities decreased (from 3.5 to 6.4%) for age and skin color, and relative inequalities (from 7.7 to 20.0%) for all
variables. Conclusion: Access and number of visits increased, but persisted lower for adolescents, women with low-education, and who self-reported skin color/race brown/black women.