Occupation and maternal mortality in Brazil

Age and Type of Delivery as Risk Indicators for Maternal Mortality

OBJECTIVE

 This study assessed maternal mortality (MM) and related factors in a large-sized municipality in the Southeastern region of Brazil (Campinas, São Paulo) during the period 2000-2015.

METHODS

 This study consisted of two phases: 1. An analytical nested case-control phase that assessed the impact of individual and contextual variables on MM; and 2. an ecological phase designed to contextualize maternal deaths by means of spatial analysis. The case group consisted of all maternal deaths (n = 87) and the control group consisted of 348 women who gave birth during the same period. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, association, and multiple logistic regression (MLR) tests at p < 0.05 as well as spatial analysis.

RESULTS

 Maternal Mortality Ratio was 37 deaths per 100.000 live births. Deaths were dispersed throughout the urban territory and no formation of cluster was observed. MLR showed that pregnant women aged ≥ 35 years old (OR = 2.63) or those with cesarean delivery (OR = 2.51) were more prone to maternal death.

CONCLUSION

 Maternal deaths were distributed dispersedly among the different socioeconomic levels and more prone to occur among older women or those undergoing cesarean deliveries.

Segurança do paciente na assistência ao parto: o que é debatido nos grupos de Facebook?

A segurança do paciente no contexto da assistência ao parto é um tema que vem ocupando as pautas de discussão sobre qualidade do cuidado materno-infantil ao redor do mundo. Discutir os eventos adversos na assistência ao parto e seus fatores contribuintes, na percepção dos pacientes e familiares, reportados em grupos de Facebook. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo que utilizou a plataforma de mídia digital Facebook como fonte de dados. Foram analisadas 55 postagens relacionadas à assistência ao parto nos meses de setembro e outubro de 2019, quanto ao conteúdo. Os achados foram classificados em duas categorias: (i) eventos adversos incluindo óbitos do recém-nascido, fetal e materno, hemorragias, infecções, lesões neurológicas, problemas relacionados à cirurgia e ao uso de medicamentos; e (ii) fatores contribuintes como atraso no atendimento, diagnóstico ou tratamento, violência obstétrica, erro diagnóstico e identificação do paciente. As plataformas de mídias digitais, podem se constituir espaços legitimados para debates e manifestações acerca de questões relacionadas à saúde incluindo aquelas ligadas à qualidade do cuidado obstétrico. Valorizar a percepção das pacientes, oriundas dessas ou de outras fontes é fundamental, mas requer o envolvimento de lideranças institucionais e profissionais na operacionalização de estratégias que facilitem a identificação precoce de fatores de risco, e possibilitem o diagnóstico e implementação do tratamento adequado oportuno com a participação ativa de pacientes e familiares.

Decomposing educational inequality in maternal mortality in Iran

Given the significance of educational equality as one of the key social determinants of health in maternal health outcomes, the present study aimed to assess maternal mortality inequality and its main contributors based on the level of education amongst mothers living in Isfahan, Iran. In this case-control study, all 171 maternal deaths in the Isfahan Province during 2001-2016 were taken from the national maternal mortality surveillance system (as a case group). For the control group, 523 mothers who were alive were selected from 22 health centers located in 21 cities in the province of Isfahan. Concentration index and curve were used to measure educational inequality in maternal mortality. The chi-square test was used to select explanatory social and health variables to enter the decomposition model. The analyses were performed with STATA 12. Social and healthcare factors accounted for 43.57% and 23.44% of educational inequality, respectively. The normalized maternal mortality concentration index was -0.13 (95% CI, -0.10 to -0.02). Among the social factors, the mother's education level (38.14%) and immigrant status (25.39%) contributed the most to educational inequality. Regarding healthcare factors, proximate medical causes (14.49%) and the number of pregnancies (9.72%) had the highest contribution. Maternal mortality has been distributed unequally among the less and more educated mothers in Iran, which suggests that promoting health literacy is imperative, especially for women with lower education levels.