Aplicações da saúde digital no cuidado obstétrico: impactos e perspectivas que extrapolam a pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction:The women’s welfare, as viewed as a whole in women’s healthcare, may be exemplified as obstetric and prenatal care, which is based on the access to health services and good quality informa-tion. Those factors enlarge women’s empowerment, decrease pregnancy complications and maternal-fetal mortality rate. Many informatized systems have been driven by COVID-19 pandemics and have become an ally in women’s healthcare and in pregnancy development, in which telemedicine and mobile health apps have been made important pillars on e-Health to facilitating doctor-pregnant patient relationship. Objective:To evaluate in the literature about the impacts of digital health system implementation and pregnancy healthcare during prenatal care and valida-tion of pregnant women information. Methods:It was used the database of PubMed, SciELO, Google Scholar and BVS between the period of 2016 and 2021, using Portuguese and English descriptors, including meta-analysis, prospective and retrospective cohorts, as well as case reports. Results:There were 13 selected articles that represent the theme of obstetric healthcare, prenatal care related to digital information and validation of pregnancy data reporting. Analyzed under the perspective of three main areas involved in digital health applications related to obstetric care, they were related to a better pregnancy healthcare and to women’s empowerment tool. Discussion: The pregnancy information validity constitutes a building up public policy tool and empowers epidemiologi-cal research. The quality of this information and the active pregnancy participation are essential pillars to promote mother-child health. Besides that, educational healthcare apps have been made one of the informatized ways by which telemedicine has become popular among patients, it has been included as an interventional way in the doctor-patient relationship. Therefore, healthcare obstetrics tools such as prenatal care has been made easily acessed and diversed through e-Health, even though during these pandemic times. Finally, the birth plan has become an efficacious tool in the prenatal care, in which it has made available a better communication between the pregnant woman and its medical team, family, friends and people around her, it represents their preferences concerning the birth time, in which it makes it an humanized delivery. Conclusion:Through the analysis of the articles it was found that the obstetric health information technology allows an integral and closer care through mobile applica-tions, in which they have improved and diminished healthcare access barriers. Those tools allied to a consolidated and informatized birth plan, plus the fact of sharing educational resources, they potentiate women’s decision-making process.