Process of decision-making regarding the mode of birth in Brazil: from the initial preference of women to the final mode of birth.

The purpose of this article is to describe the factors cited for the preference for type of birth in early pregnancy and reconstruct the decision process by type of birth in Brazil. Data from a national hospital-based cohort with 23,940 postpartum women, held in 2011-2012, were analyzed according to source of funding for birth and parity, using the χ2 test. The initial preference for cesarean delivery was 27.6%, ranging from 15.4% (primiparous public sector) to 73.2% (multiparous women with previous cesarean private sector). The main reason for the choice of vaginal delivery was the best recovery of this type of birth (68.5%) and for the choice of cesarean, the fear of pain (46.6%). Positive experience with vaginal delivery (28.7%), cesarean delivery (24.5%) and perform female sterilization (32.3%) were cited by multiparous. Women from private sector presented 87.5% caesarean, with increased decision for cesarean birth in end of gestation, independent of diagnosis of complications. In both sectors, the proportion of caesarean section was much higher than desired by women.

Factors associated with caesarean section among primiparous adolescents in Brazil, 2011-2012.

This paper presents the factors associated with caesarean section in primiparous adolescents in Brazil using data from a national hospital-based survey conducted between 2011 and 2012. Information was obtained from postpartum women through face-to-face and telephone interviews and a theoretical model with three levels of hierarchy was used to analyze associations with the dependent variable mode of delivery (caesarean or vaginal). The results show that the caesarean section rate among primiparous teenagers is high (40%). The most significant contributing factors for caesarean section were: considering this mode of delivery safer (OR=7.0; 95%CI: 4.3-11.4); giving birth under the private health system (OR=4.3; 95%CI: 2.3-9.0); being attended by the same health care professional throughout prenatal care and delivery (OR=5.7; 95%CI: 3.3-9.0) and clinical history of risk and complications during pregnancy (OR=10.8; 95%CI: 8.5-13.7). Adolescent pregnancy continues to be an important concern on the reproductive health agenda and the rates observed by this study are worrying given the effects of early exposure to caesarean section.

Clinical practices in the hospital care of healthy newborn infant in Brazil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the care of healthy full-term newborns and to identify variations in childbirth care and practices in the first hour of life. We used data from the Birth in Brazil survey. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR) of hospital-delivered care for the mother and during childbirth were estimated for the following outcomes: upper airways and gastric aspiration, use of inhaled oxygen, use of incubator, skin-to-skin contact after birth, rooming-in and breastfeeding in the delivery room and within the first hour of life. We observed wide variations in the care of healthy full-term newborn in the delivery room. Practices considered inadequate, such as use of inhaled oxygen, (9.5%) aspiration of airways (71.1%) and gastric suctioning (39.7%), and the use of incubator (8.8%) were excessively used. Breastfeeding in the delivery room was low (16%), even when the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative had been implemented (24%). The results suggest poor knowledge and compliance by health practitioners to good clinical practice. Such noncompliance was probably not due to the differences in resources, since most births take place in hospitals where the necessary resources are available.

Obstetric interventions during labor and childbirth in Brazilian low-risk women.

This study evaluated the use of best practices (eating, movement, use of nonpharmacological methods for pain relief and partograph) and obstetric interventions in labor and delivery among low-risk women. Data from the hospital-based survey Birth in Brazil conducted between 2011 and 2012 was used. Best practices during labor occurred in less than 50% of women and prevalence of the use of these practices was lower in the North, Northeast and Central West Regions. The rate of use of oxytocin drips and amniotomy was 40%, and was higher among women admitted to public hospitals and in women with a low level of education. The uterine fundal pressure, episiotomy and lithotomy were used in 37%, 56% and 92% of women, respectively. Caesarean section rates were lower in women using the public health system, nonwhites, women with a low level of education and multiparous women. To improve the health of mothers and newborns and promote quality of life, a change of approach to labor and childbirth that focuses on evidence-based care is required in both the public and private health sectors.

Structure in Brazilian maternity hospitals: key characteristics for quality of obstetric and neonatal care.

This study aimed to evaluate key characteristics of structure in a sample of maternity hospitals in Brazil. Structure was evaluated according to Ministry of Health criteria and included: geographic location, obstetric volume, presence of ICU, teaching activities, staff qualifications, and availability of equipment and medicines. The results showed differences in staff qualifications and availability of equipment in obstetric and neonatal care according to type of financing, region of the country, and degree of complexity. The North/Northeast and Central-West regions presented the most serious problems with structure. The public and mixed hospitals were better structured in the South/Southeast, reaching satisfactory levels on various items, similar or superior to the private hospitals. The current study contributes to the debate on quality of structure in Brazil's hospital services and emphasizes the need to develop analytical studies considering process and results of obstetric and neonatal care.

Incidence of maternal near miss in hospital childbirth and postpartum: data from the Birth in Brazil study.

This study evaluated data on the incidence of maternal near miss identified on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria from the Birth in Brazil survey. The study was conducted between February 2011 and October 2012. The results presented are estimates for the study population (2,337,476 births), based on a sample of 23,894 women interviewed. The results showed an incidence of maternal near miss of 10.21 per 1,000 live births and a near-miss-to-mortality ratio of 30.8 maternal near miss to every maternal death. Maternal near miss was identified most prevalently by clinical criteria, at incidence of 5.2 per 1,000 live births. Maternal near miss was associated with maternal age 35 or more years (RR=1.6; 95%CI: 1.1-2.5), a history of previous cesarean delivery (RR=1.9; 95%CI: 1.1-3.4) and high-risk pregnancy (RR=4.5; 95%CI: 2.8-7.0). incidence of maternal near miss was also higher at hospitals in capital cities (RR=2.2; 95%CI: 1.3-3.8) and those belonging to Brazil's national health service, the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) (RR=3.2; 95%CI: 1.6-6.6). Improved quality of childbirth care services can help reduce maternal mortality in Brazil.