OBJETIVOS: Compilar, consolidar e analisar as informações obtidas por inquéritos do projeto MEASURE DHS acerca de assistência obstétrica e complicações da gestação na América Latina e Caribe. MÉTODOS: O presente estudo exploratório incluiu sete inquéritos demográficos realizados na década de 1990 (Bolívia, Brasil, Colômbia, Guatemala, Nicarágua, Peru e República Dominicana). Além do levantamento das características das entrevistadas e da assistência obstétrica recebida, foi estimada a ocorrência de complicações (trabalho de parto prolongado e complicações hemorrágicas, hipertensivas e infecciosas). RESULTADOS: A mediana do número de visitas de pré-natal oscilou entre 4,7 (Bolívia) e 6,6 (República Dominicana). Na Bolívia, Peru e Guatemala foram observadas altas taxas (>40%) de assistência ao parto por parteiras tradicionais, parentes e outras pessoas sem treinamento formal. República Dominicana e Brasil apresentaram as maiores taxas de parto em estabelecimento de saúde (>90%). Na Guatemala, Peru e Bolívia, mais de 45% dos partos foram domiciliares. A maior taxa de cesárea foi registrada no Brasil (36,4%); as menores taxas foram registradas no Peru e Guatemala (<12%). A taxa de complicações da gestação referidas pelas mulheres foi de 16,7% no Brasil, 17,9% na Guatemala, 42,1% na Colômbia, 42,5% na Nicarágua, 43,0% na República Dominicana, 51,7% na Bolívia e 51,8% no Peru. CONCLUSÃO: A ocorrência relatada de complicações graves da gestação nos inquéritos avaliados está muito acima da taxa de 15% citada na literatura, podendo ter sido superestimada. A validação prévia dos questionários utilizados para coleta de dados nesse tipo de estudo é extremamente importante para gerar dados mais adequados.

OBJECTIVE: To compile, consolidate, and analyze information obtained in surveys conducted by the MEASURE DHS [Demographic and Health Surveys] program, concerning obstetric care and pregnancy complications for women in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the five years before the survey. METHODS: This exploratory study utilized data from demographic surveys carried out in the 1990s in seven countries of Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru. The study describes the characteristics of the women who were interviewed and of the obstetric care that they received in the five years before the respective survey, and it also estimates the occurrence of prolonged labor and of hemorrhagic, hypertensive, and infectious complications in those five years. RESULTS: The median number of prenatal consultations ranged from 4.7 in Bolivia to 6.6 in the Dominican Republic. More than 40% of deliveries in Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia were attended by traditional midwives, relatives, or other persons without formal training. The highest rates of deliveries performed in health care facilities (> 90%) were in the Dominican Republic and Brazil. In Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia more than 45% of deliveries were at home. The highest rate of cesarean delivery was in Brazil (36.4%), and the lowest rates (< 12%) were in Peru and Guatemala. The rate of pregnancy complications reported by the women surveyed was 16.7% in Brazil, 17.9% in Guatemala, 42.1% in Colombia, 42.5% in Nicaragua, 43.0% in the Dominican Republic, 51.7% in Bolivia, and 51.8% in Peru. CONCLUSION: The reported occurrence of severe pregnancy complications in the surveys we examined was well above the 15% rate reported in other scientific literature, suggesting that these complications may have been overestimated in the MEASURE DHS surveys. Prior validation of the questionnaires used for data collection is extremely important in the generation of high-quality data.