Reduction of maternal mortality and the nurse’s acting

Abstract

Introduction: According to the Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade (SIM), in Brazil between 2004-2014 there were 18.364 maternal deaths. Thus, the Ministry of Health (MS) has adopted, over the years, policies aimed at improving women health. Objective: To evaluate the maternal mortality rates in Salvador and Bahia and describe how the nurse can act in the reduction of these indices. Methodology: This is an ecological, descriptive, quantitative approach, with information collected on maternal mortality in Salvador and Bahia in the last ten years, through DATASUS. Results: In Bahia, according to reported cases of maternal mortality, 1,764 maternal deaths were registered in 2004 to 2014. In Salvador, 2004 had the lowest maternal mortality rate with 17 deaths, may be associated with the expansion of PSF, the nurse’s main means of acting to reduce mortality through prenatal program care. In 2008, there were 36 reported deaths, which may be related to the low population coverage of the program and structural and operational problems of the service in recent years. Conclusion: The rate of maternal deaths is still high in Bahia and Salvador. However, it was verified the importance of the nurse's role in reducing these rates, since prevention occurs in primary care, an environment where nurses have autonomy regulated by law to provide qualified prenatal care.