You are pregnant and already live in Florianópolis

Where to start: how do you register for prenatal care?

In SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde, the public health system), a pregnancy is managed at the primary-care level: at the Centro de Saúde for your address. For a high-risk pregnancy, care is passed to a specialized service (pré-natal de alto risco). In other cities such clinics are called UBS (Unidade Básica de Saúde). You find your center by address; addresses and phone numbers are on the Florianópolis City Hall website.

The migration law establishes for migrants who live in the country access to public healthcare without discrimination by citizenship or migration status (Lei 13.445/2017, art. 4, VIII). The order of care, how to register and the terms for short-term visitors (tourists) are set by the city and the facility.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health advises going to the primary-care clinic closest to home as soon as you learn of the pregnancy or suspect it, preferably before week 12 (Ministry of Health page). A rapid pregnancy test is done right at the UBS (page on pregnancy). Appointments follow a schedule: monthly until week 28, every two weeks from week 28 to 36 and weekly as the due date approaches. Prenatal care is provided for the partner too.

The steps:

1. Find the center for your address, call or come in person.
2. Say that you want to start pré-natal (prenatal care).
3. Take an ID document and your CPF number (tax number), if you already have one. The center will tell you the exact list.
4. Ask which maternity hospital you will be linked to and how to book your first appointment.

If your care is at a private clinic or under an insurance plan, the procedure is different; for a comparison of SUS and private clinics, see the section “What giving birth in Brazil costs”.

Do you need a SUS card and a CPF?

In short: the CPF is becoming the single identifier in SUS, and for people who do not have one, registration in the Cadastro Nacional de Saúde (CNS) remains and temporary registration is provided.

The Cartão SUS (Cartão Nacional de Saúde) is a SUS patient’s card. According to a Brazilian Ministry of Health announcement of September 16, 2025, the new card shows a name and CPF instead of the former number. The name of the registry is also being changed: instead of “cartão” (card), they say “cadastro” (registry), to stress that the CNS is secondary and supplements the CPF. People who do not use a CPF, for example foreigners, are still identified by the CNS.

According to the same announcement, for people admitted without a CPF, for example for emergency care, temporary registration for up to a year has been introduced; after discharge or settlement you need to confirm your identity (prova de vida) and enter a CPF. The Ministry plans to complete the migration of its information systems to the CPF by December 2026, so confirm the procedure at your center when you book.

The CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas, the individual taxpayer number) is called by law the single number for identification in government databases (Lei 14.534/2023). It is also useful outside SUS, for example when arranging newborn documents. A foreigner’s CPF application can be filed through the Receita Federal service; see the terms there.

How do you choose a maternity hospital?

A pregnant woman cared for by SUS has the right to know in advance which maternity hospital she will give birth in and where she will be referred in case of complications, and to be linked to it. The link must be made when you register for prenatal care, and the hospital must suit the risk level of the pregnancy (Lei 11.634/2007, art. 1).

In practice the procedure depends on the city and the facility, so it is worth asking at your center directly: which maternity hospital you are being linked to, whether you can see the ward, and what its rules are for the partner and for a doula.

Maternity hospitals, their type (SUS or private) and admission terms are described on the pages “Florianópolis maternity hospitals” and “Giving birth in Florianópolis”. We do not compile rankings: conditions change, and the choice depends on your situation.

What are a woman’s rights in labor?

A companion. You do not need to notify the facility in advance. The right to a companion in labor in SUS was originally established by Lei 11.108/2005, and Lei 14.737/2023 extended it to consultations, examinations and procedures in public and private facilities. In urgent cases the team may act even if the companion is not there.

A doula. Santa Catarina law requires public and private maternity hospitals and similar facilities in the state to admit a doula at the woman’s request; a doula’s presence creates neither costs nor an employment relationship for the facility. The facility sets the admission procedure itself, and the doula presents herself with a set of documents: more on the page “For hospitals”.

Federal law 15.381/2026, in force since April 9, 2026, regulates the profession and establishes the right to a doula’s presence in the country’s maternity hospitals at the pregnant woman’s request. It also forbids a doula to use medical equipment, give medication or interfere in the technical procedures of medical staff (art. 4, parágrafo único, the unnumbered paragraph). A doula’s presence replaces neither a companion nor the medical team.

Respect and consent. Santa Catarina state law 18.322/2022 (ch. V; it incorporated the former law 17.097/2017, which no longer applies separately) lists actions that count as obstetric violence (violência obstétrica). Among them are any procedure without first asking permission or explaining in plain words why it is needed (art. 35, XV), and preventing a woman from being accompanied throughout labor by a person of her choice (art. 35, IX). Hospitals and equivalent facilities, including UBS, must post the list of such actions and information on which bodies to complain to and how (art. 37, including § 1–2). A detailed look: “Birth rights and doulas in Brazil”.

What is a birth plan?

A plano de parto is a short document in which you write down your wishes in advance: who will be with you, how you want to ease pain, how you imagine the first hours with your baby. It is for a conversation with the team before the birth. Decisions in labor are made by the doctor and the obstetric team on health grounds, so the plan serves as a basis for discussion, not a demand. Katerina helps you draw up the plan in Russian and Portuguese and prepare questions for the doctors in advance.

What happens after the birth?

In Florianópolis, newborns in maternity hospitals are visited by the Capital Criança program. According to the city Health Secretariat, its team comes every day to the public and private maternity hospitals where children are born in the city: it explains baby care and feeding, leaves a kit for the first care and gives the first vaccinations (BCG against tuberculosis and the first dose against hepatitis B).

The program team also explains the teste do pezinho, the newborn screening. The sample is taken on day 3 to 5 of life, ideally on day 3, at any Centro de Saúde. Appointments for the baby and the mother at the time of the sample are set by the center’s family health team (Equipe de Saúde da Família).

The baby’s documents (birth registration, CPF, passport) are a separate topic: “Newborn documents”. For help with feeding, see the section “Breastfeeding support”.

How does Katerina help?

Katerina is a doula and perinatal educator in Florianópolis. She helps you work out where to go and how to book, goes with you to consultations, interprets when needed, helps you draw up a birth plan and is beside you in labor. The terms and format: “Doula support for birth”.

What we don’t guarantee

This page does not promise a place in a particular maternity hospital, a particular doctor or a particular course of birth. The rules of facilities, admission terms and doula admission procedures change, and the decision stays with the maternity hospital. The information is general and does not replace a doctor’s advice.

When you need a doctor or a lawyer

With worrying symptoms, contact your Centro de Saúde or the maternity hospital you are linked to. If life is at risk, call SAMU (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência, the emergency medical service) at 192: the call costs nothing, and the service works around the clock. Questions about a residence permit and citizenship are decided by government bodies, and for a review of your own situation turn to a lawyer: “Citizenship and residency”.

If you would like to talk through your situation, you can write to Katerina.