ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES IN THE INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL MORTALITY

Abstract

Maternal mortality is a serious public health problem and represents a violation of human, sexual and reproductive rights, especially in contexts of social inequality. This study aimed to investigate, through an integrative review, how access to health services influences maternal mortality rates in Brazil. The research was conducted between February and April 2025, based on articles published between 2020 and 2024, in the LILACS, PubMed, and SciELO databases. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 studies were selected. The analysis showed that, although the country has wide coverage of prenatal care and hospital births, maternal deaths continue to be mostly caused by preventable factors, such as hypertension, sepsis, and hemorrhage. The delay in seeking care, the scarcity of ICU beds, the low problem-solving capacity of services and regional inequality are recurrent factors. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this scenario, increasing mortality rates and further exposing the structural flaws of the system. It is concluded that access to health services, although essential, is not enough in itself: it is necessary to qualify care, especially in vulnerable regions, with public policies that promote equity, humanization and continuity of care.