Racial inequality in obstetric good practices and interventions in labor and birth care in Rede Cegonha

Factors associated with severe maternal outcome in patients admitted to an intensive care unit in northeastern Brazil with postpartum hemorrhage: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries; however, the majority of these deaths could be avoided with adequate obstetric care. Analyzing severe maternal outcomes (SMO) has been a major approach for evaluating the quality of the obstetric care provided, since the morbid events that lead to maternal death generally occur in sequence. The objective of this study was to analyze the clinical profile, management, maternal outcomes and factors associated with SMO in women who developed PPH and were admitted to an obstetric intensive care unit (ICU) in northeastern Brazil.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included a non-probabilistic, consecutive sample of postpartum women with a diagnosis of PPH who were admitted to the obstetric ICU of the Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP) between January 2012 and March 2020. Sociodemographic, biological and obstetric characteristics and data regarding childbirth, the management of PPH and outcomes were collected and analyzed. The frequency of maternal near miss (MNM) and death was calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the adjusted odd ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for a SMO.

RESULTS

Overall, 136 cases of SMO were identified (37.9%), with 125 cases of MNM (34.9%) and 11 cases of maternal death (3.0%). The factors that remained associated with an SMO following multivariate analysis were gestational age ≤ 34 weeks (AOR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.12-3.64; p < 0.02), multiparity (AOR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.10-4.68; p = 0.02) and not having delivered in the institute (AOR = 2.22; 955 CI: 1.02-4.81; p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Women admitted to the obstetric ICU with a diagnosis of PPH who had had two or more previous deliveries, gestational age ≤ 34 weeks and who had delivered elsewhere were more likely to have a SMO.

The effect of music-based interventions on short-term postpartum episiotomy pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Episiotomy took over as the most common surgery in the field of midwifery that was performed in the second stage of labor to facilitate delivery, and reduce perineal damage. Music is one of the methods used to combat pain. We applied a meta-analysis to investigate whether music-based interventions can reduce short-term postpartum episiotomy pain. Four main English databases including Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until July 2022. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with at least two groups (control and intervention) that aimed to measure the effect of music therapy on episiotomy pain were included in the present review. The Cochrane risk of bias checklist was used to assess study quality. Study heterogeneity was determined using the I² statistic and publication bias using Begg's and Egger's tests. Results of random effect analysis are presented as Standard Mean Difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Data were analyzed using the STATA software version 16. In total, seven articles with 677 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the pool estimates of the meta-analysis demonstrated that music therapy has a positive impact on reducing short-term pain derived from episiotomy in both primiparous and multiparous compared to the control group (pooled SMD = -1.60; CI = -2.18, -1.02, p-value<0.001). The heterogeneity was high among including studies (I² = 95.7%, p < 0.001). Our result showed that music-based interventions can be considered a choice for the management of short-term postpartum episiotomy pain among both primiparous and multiparous women. Future studies with large sample sizes and longer follow-up periods will be required to draw better conclusions about the long-term effects on postpartum pain.

Factors associated with the occurrence of upright birth in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To identify the factors associated with Upright Delivery (UD) performed in hospitals linked to the Rede Cegonha (RC) in Brazil.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with 3,073 parturients who had vaginal delivery in 606 health facilities in Brazil, located in health regions with a regional action plan approved in the RC. Socioeconomic, demographic, and obstetric characteristics of the parturients, organizational and management aspects of maternity hospitals, and work processes in childbirth care were evaluated. The multivariate logistic regression model with a hierarchical approach was adjusted to identify the variables associated with UD (outcome), estimating Odds Ratios (OR) with a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS

Of the evaluated parturient, 6.7% gave birth in the vertical position. The following were associated with a greater chance of PPV: being black (OR=2.07); having 13 or more years of study (OR=3.20); giving birth in a high-risk hospital (OR=1.58); giving birth in PPP rooms (which assisted with labor, delivery, and puerperium in the same environment) in Obstetric Centers (OR=2.07) or in-hospital Normal Delivery Centers (OR=1.62); being assisted by an obstetrician nurse (OR=1.64) or by a midwife (OR=7.62) when compared to a doctor; receiving massage during labor and delivery (OR=1.89); using a stool (OR=4.16) and among women who did not ask for/not receive analgesia (OR=3.15).

CONCLUSION

The UD is an event related to racial aspects and the education of the parturient, being stimulated in health establishments where good practices of childbirth care are implemented, with adequate ambiance, and with multidisciplinary teams comprising midwives and obstetric nurses.

Ethnoracial inequalities and child mortality in Brazil: a nationwide longitudinal study of 19 million newborn babies

BACKGROUND

Racism is a social determinant of health inequities. In Brazil, racial injustices lead to poor outcomes in maternal and child health for Black and Indigenous populations, including greater risks of pregnancy-related complications; decreased access to antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care; and higher childhood mortality rates. In this study, we aimed to estimate inequalities in childhood mortality rates by maternal race and skin colour in a cohort of more than 19 million newborns in Brazil.

METHODS

We did a nationwide population-based, retrospective cohort study using linked data on all births and deaths in Brazil between Jan 1, 2012, and Dec 31, 2018. The data consisted of livebirths followed up to age 5 years, death, or Dec 31, 2018. Data for livebirths were extracted from the National Information System for livebirths, SINASC, and for deaths from the Mortality Information System, SIM. The final sample consisted of complete data for all cases regarding maternal race and skin colour, and no inconsistencies were present between date of birth and death after linkage. We fitted Cox proportional hazard regression models to calculate the crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between maternal race and skin colour and all-cause and cause-specific younger than age 5 mortality rates, by age subgroups. We calculated the trend of HRs (and 95% CI) by time of observation (calendar year) to indicate trends in inequalities.

FINDINGS

From the 20 526 714 livebirths registered in SINASC between Jan 1, 2012, and Dec 31, 2018, 238 436 were linked to death records identified from SIM. After linkage, 1 010 871 records were excluded due to missing data on maternal race or skin colour or inconsistent date of death. 19 515 843 livebirths were classified by mother's race, of which 224 213 died. Compared with children of White mothers, mortality risk for children younger than age 5 years was higher among children of Indigenous (HR 1·98 [95% CI 1·92-2·06]), Black (HR 1·39 [1·36-1·41]), and Brown or Mixed race (HR 1·19 [1·18-1·20]) mothers. The highest hazard ratios were observed during the post-neonatal period (Indigenous, HR 2·78 [95% CI 2·64-2·95], Black, HR 1·54 [1·48-1·59]), and Brown or Mixed race, HR 1·25 [1·23-1·27]) and between the ages of 1 year and 4 years (Indigenous, HR 3·82 [95% CI 3·52-4·15]), Black, HR 1·51 [1·42-1·60], and Brown or Mixed race, HR 1·30 [1·26-1·35]). Children of Indigenous (HR 16·39 [95% CI 12·88-20·85]), Black (HR 2·34 [1·78-3·06]), and Brown or Mixed race mothers (HR 2·05 [1·71-2·45]) had a higher risk of death from malnutrition than did children of White mothers. Similar patterns were observed for death from diarrhoea (Indigenous, HR 14·28 [95% CI 12·25-16·65]; Black, HR 1·72 [1·44-2·05]; and Brown or Mixed race mothers, HR 1·78 [1·61-1·98]) and influenza and pneumonia (Indigenous, HR 6·49 [95% CI 5·78-7·27]; Black, HR 1·78 [1·62-1·96]; and Brown or Mixed race mothers, HR 1·60 [1·51-1·69]).

INTERPRETATION

Substantial ethnoracial inequalities were observed in child mortality in Brazil, especially among the Indigenous and Black populations. These findings demonstrate the importance of regular racial inequality assessments and monitoring. We suggest implementing policies to promote ethnoracial equity to reduce the impact of racism on child health.

FUNDING

MCTI/CNPq/MS/SCTIE/Decit/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grandes Desafios Brasil, Desenvolvimento Saudável para Todas as Crianças, and Wellcome Trust core support grant awarded to CIDACS-Center for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health.

Acolhimento ao parto em estabelecimentos de saúde vinculados à Rede Cegonha no Brasil: a perspectiva das usuárias

Este estudo objetivou analisar os fatores sociodemográficos e reprodutivos associados ao acolhimento ao parto em estabelecimentos de saúde vinculados à Rede Cegonha no Brasil, na perspectiva das usuárias. Foram selecionados 606 serviços com amostra de 10.540 puérperas. O desfecho foi a variável latente acolhimento da puérpera, composta por cinco indicadores: apresentação dos profissionais com nome e função, chamar a gestante pelo nome, compreensão das informações dadas, se sentir bem tratada e respeitada e ter as necessidades respondidas pela equipe. As variáveis explicativas foram: idade, escolaridade, cor da pele, situação conjugal, tipo de parto, paridade e peregrinação. Foi utilizada modelagem de equações estruturais. Observaram-se maiores percentuais de mulheres com idade de 20 a 34 anos (68,31%), que se autodeclararam como pardas (56,3%), com escolaridade entre 9 e 11 anos de estudo (56,1%) e que tinham companheiro (78,8%). Houve predominância de puérperas que tiveram parto vaginal (56,6%), com um a dois filhos (46%) e que relataram não peregrinar (91,9%). Apresentaram efeito direto positivo sobre o acolhimento mulheres com maior idade (CP = 0,094; p < 0,001) e maior escolaridade (CP = 0,096; p < 0,001). O parto cesáreo apresentou efeito direto negativo (CP = -0,059; p < 0,002) e cor da pele preta e parda apresentou efeitos direto e indireto negativos (CP = -0,081; p < 0,001 e CP = -0,014; p < 0,001). Puérpera com maior idade, maior escolaridade e que tiveram parto vaginal tiveram percepção mais positiva do acolhimento nos serviços de saúde.

Fatores associados à ocorrência de parto em posição vertical no Brasil

RESUMO Objetivo: Identificar os fatores associados aos partos na posição vertical realizados em hospitais vinculados à Rede Cegonha no Brasil. Métodos: Estudo transversal com 3.073 parturientes que tiveram parto vaginal em 606 estabelecimentos de saúde no Brasil, localizados em regiões de saúde com plano de ação regional aprovado na Rede Cegonha. Foram avaliadas características socioeconômicas, demográficas e obstétricas das parturientes, aspectos organizacionais e de gestão das maternidades e processos de trabalho na atenção ao parto. Modelo de regressão logística multivariada com abordagem hierarquizada foi ajustado para identificar as variáveis associadas ao parto na posição vertical (desfecho), estimando-se odds ratio (OR) com nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: Do total de parturientes avaliadas, 6,7% das mulheres tiveram parto na posição vertical. Estiveram associados à maior chance de ocorrência do parto na posição vertical: ser preta (OR=2,07); ter 13 ou mais anos de estudo (OR=3,20); parir em hospital de alto risco (OR=1,58); parir em quartos PPP (que dispunham de assistência ao trabalho de parto, parto e puerpério no mesmo ambiente) em centros obstétricos (OR=2,07) ou em centros de parto normal intra-hospitalares (OR=1,62); ser assistida por enfermeiro obstetra (OR=1,64) ou por obstetriz (OR=7,62) quando comparado ao médico; receber massagem durante o trabalho de parto e parto (OR=1,91); utilizar banqueta (OR=4,35) e entre mulheres que não pediram/não receberem analgesia (OR=3,33). Conclusão: O parto na posição vertical é um evento relacionado a aspectos raciais e à escolaridade da parturiente, sendo estimulado em estabelecimentos de saúde onde estão implantadas boas práticas de assistência ao parto, com ambiência adequada e com equipes multiprofissionais contendo obstetriz e enfermeiro obstetra.