Abstract
Objective: To describe the social-demographic and obstetrics characteristics of puerperal patients and to compare the methods for calculating the gestational age (GA) of newborns assessed in a maternal and child care reference hospital in Northern Brazil. Methods: This is an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, composed of 100 mothers and their respective newborns. The study was held in a maternity hospital from July to November 2019. The data were obtained through forms filled with information collected in the medical records, analyzed using descriptive statistics and the BioEstat 5.3 software. Results: The average age of the puerperal women was 24 years old, 90% were black or brown-skinned and half of them lived in the capital city Belém (PA) (50%). All pregnancies were single gestations and 96% of them received prenatal care. 53% were in a cohabitating relationship and the majority (26%) attended high school. The mean GA using the capurro method was 39 weeks and 3 days, considering the day of the last menstruation, it was 39 weeks and based in the Ultrasonography, it was 38 weeks and 4 days. The newborns weighed an average of 3095.6g with an Apgar score > 7 in the 1st and 5th minute and height <50 cm. Conclusion: The determination of gestational age by different methods showed that the greatest difference was seven days between USG and Capurro.