Factors associated with tetanus vaccination in pregnant women living in Minas Gerais State, Brazil: A cross-sectional study

Background: Immunization in pregnant women is essential to help controlling and avoiding preventable diseases.

Aim: Analyzing some factors associated with non-vaccination against tetanus in pregnant women who gave birth in maternity hospitals in Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with database deriving from the research titled "Born in Belo Horizonte: Survey on childbirth", which was developed in public and private hospitals. Sample was calculated by taking into consideration the total number of births recorded in each investigated maternity hospital - the final sample comprised 481 mothers. Descriptive population statistics were used for data analysis purposes, whereas Poisson regression model was used to estimate factors associated with non-vaccination against tetanus during pregnancy.

Results: The prevalence of puerperal women subjected to at least 2 doses of tetanus vaccine reached 59.2%. Adjusted analyses have shown that not living with a partner has increased by 1.58 times the prevalence of women who did not take tetanus vaccine, on average; that the prevalence of women who were not vaccinated has decreased by 0.65 times after each prenatal consultation, on average; that prenatal consultations with nurses have reduced by 0.52 times the prevalence of women who did not take the tetanus vaccine, on average.

Conclusion: Almost half of puerperal women were not vaccinated against tetanus during pregnancy. It is essential identifying specific groups to help implementing and expanding preventive actions, such as immunization for pregnant women. Despite advances in public health policies, authorities still face challenges to expand vaccination coverage in the investigated state, as well as to strengthen the national immunization program to help increasing tetanus vaccination rates among pregnant women.