Evidence-based maternal and perinatal healthcare practices in public hospitals in Argentina.

Objective: To investigate the use of beneficial maternal and perinatal healthcare practices in a network of public maternity hospitals in Argentina.
Method: A multicenter, prospective, descriptive study of 6661 deliveries in 9 hospitals. The use of 5 obstetric care practices that reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality was evaluated.
Results: Median use rates for the selected practices were: continuous support for women during childbirth (17.9%); corticosteroids for preterm birth (35.3%); avoidance of episiotomy in primiparous women (41.2%); iron and folate supplementation (52.5%); active management of third stage of labor (93.5%).
Conclusion: There is limited use of the selected evidence-based maternal and perinatal practices in public hospitals in Argentina and a large variation in their use among and within hospitals. Efforts should be made to increase the use of these evidence-based practices.