Abstract

Background

Postpartum care, known as postnatal care, postpartum or puerperium, is an important period for the development of health care strategies for women aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality. With the increase of publications of clinical guidelines, there are concerns about their quality.

Objective

To evaluate guidelines quality on women postpartum care in Primary Health Care.

Method

Systematic review of guidelines published between 2008 and 2017, in Lilacs and PubMed databases, and the National Guideline Clearing House, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Google®. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool was used to assess the quality of the guidelines as to: scope and purpose; stakeholders involvement; accuracy of development; transparency and presentation; applicability; and editorial independence.

Results

Ten 10 guidelines that presented a general average score of 77%, with a better evaluation for "scope and purpose" (92%) and worse for "applicability" (57%) were analyzed.

Conclusion

The guidelines presented good overall quality, however, they need to improve their elaboration regarding applicability.

Keywords:
postpartum period; Primary Health Care; clinical practice guideline