PRECONCEPTION CARE: ADOLESCENTS' KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE CUIDADO PRÉ-CONCEPCIONAL: CONHECIMENTO E PRÁTICA DE ADOLESCENTES ATENCIÓN PRECONCEPTIVA: CONOCIMIENTO Y PRÁCTICA DE ADOLESCENTES

Objective: assess the knowledge and practice regarding preconception care among adolescents. Method: descriptive study conducted in a public maternity hospital in Sao Paulo city, with pregnant women, parturient women, and puerperal women. The adolescents answered to questions on preconception care and an instrument to measure pregnancy planning was applied. Data were processed through the software SPSS 18.0 and using thematic categorical analysis. The study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee, CAAE 0094.0.196.196-11. Results: among the 126 adolescents, 18.3% had planned pregnancy, 19.0% had not planned it, and 62.7% were ambivalent. The measures cited as preconception preparation covered three dimensions: emotional, social, and physical. Although most of them think it is significant, 84.9% of the adolescents had not adopted any measure in preparation for pregnancy and 22.0% did not even know any measure to mention in this regard. Conclusion: the results show that little is known and done concerning preconception care during adolescence. Descriptors: Pregnancy in Adolescence; Preconception Care; Knowledge; Healthy Behaviors. RESUMO