Regional inequalities of health status of pregnant women in Hungary - Long-term series analysis

Abstract

Monitoring the health status of populations is essential for good health policy decisions. This is particularly true in maternal and child health where targeted and timely interventions may have long-term consequences. Our objective was to describe changes in the health status of pregnant women at the national and county level during the period of 1997-2012. Data were extracted from the mandatory annual reports of district nurses responsible for primary maternal care. Information on the smoking status of expecting mothers, special care during pregnancy, pregnant women entering into maternity care after 28 weeks of pregnancy, borne woman without district nurse care were analysed using Microsoft Excel and STATA 13.0. The mean prevalence of smoking was 13.8% among pregnant women during the investigation period. The ratio of smoking pregnant women was higher (p<0.01) in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Nógrád, Heves, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, and Somogy counties. The ratio of pregnants requiring special care was higher (p<0.01) than the national average in Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Nógrád counties. More, than 1% of the pregnant women entered into care only after the 28th week of the pregnancy. Women who were registered by district nurses and gave birth less than 1% did not participate in pregnant nursing. National data hide significant regional disparities within the country which should be amended by targeted interventions, taking into account the large regional inequalities in the country. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(29): 1131-1142.