Profile of puerperal women hospitalized in a hospital

Objective: to know the profile of puerperal women admitted in a university hospital of the Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, regard to the sociodemographic and obstetric aspects. Method: this is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach, with the interview of 148 women who experienced at least 12 h in a collective lodging. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), under the Opinion 172/2007. Results: it was found that 50% of puerperal women are aged between 21 and 30 years, 43.9% are married, 38.5% are housewives, 45.3% has a family income of up to a minimum wage, 52% has not finished elementary school, and 34.5% lived in the town. Regarding the number of pregnancies, 95.6% of the women with 1 or 2 pregnancies were between 14 and 20 years old, the average number of live children was 1.59, and the average number of dead children was 0.16. Out of the interviewed women, 97% attended prenatal care appointments, and 69.6% had their children born by vaginal delivery. Conclusion: considering the profile identified, there is a considerable provision of educative actions to the professionals working in this institution, favoring the improvement of the assistance offered to this population. Descriptors: obstetric nursing; collective lodging; puerperium; women’s health.