Evidências e fatores associados ao fenômeno de adiamento da maternidade no Brasil / Evidence and factors associated with the maternity postponement phenomenon in Brazil / Evidencia y factores asociados al fenómeno de aplazamiento de la maternidad en Brasil

Este trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir com a literatura sobre o fenômeno do adiamento da maternidade no Brasil, bem como analisar seus principais fatores associados. A pesquisa aborda o período de 1992 a 2015, considerando as informações da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD), do IBGE, e a análise de sobrevivência que possibilita caracterizar aquelas mulheres com nascimentos de primeira ordem. Os resultados constatam uma tendência crescente da postergação da maternidade no Brasil e que aquelas com mais chances de adiar a maternidade são brancas, solteiras, residentes em áreas urbanas, metropolitanas e na região Sudeste. Ademais, foi possível identificar que, entre os principais fatores que contribuem para essa tendência, estão o investimento em capital humano e a participação no mercado de trabalho, preponderantes para o adiamento da maternidade.

This paper aims to contribute to the literature on the phenomenon of postponement of motherhood in Brazil, as well as to analyze its main associated factors. The research analyzes the period from 1992 to 2015, considering information from the National Household Sample Survey and the survival analysis that makes it possible to characterize those women who are surviving without children or postponing their first child. The results show a growing tendency in maternity postponement in Brazil and that those most likely to postpone motherhood are white, single, living in urban, metropolitan areas and in the Southeast region. In addition, it was possible to identify that among the main factors that contribute to this trend is investment in human capital and participation in the labor market, which are preponderant for the postponement of motherhood.

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo contribuir a la literatura sobre el fenómeno del aplazamiento de la maternidad en Brasil, así como analizar sus principales factores asociados. La investigación analiza el período 1992-2015, considerando la información de la Encuesta Nacional de Muestras de Hogares y el análisis de supervivencia que permite caracterizar a las mujeres que sobreviven sin hijos o posponen a su primer hijo. Los resultados muestran una tendencia creciente de posponer la maternidad en Brasil y que quienes tienen más probabilidades de posponer la maternidad son blancas y solteras, y viven en áreas urbanas, metropolitanas y en el sudeste. Además, fue posible identificar que entre los principales factores que contribuyen a esta tendencia se encuentra la inversión en capital humano y la participación en el mercado laboral, que son preponderantes para el aplazamiento de la maternidad.

Intention to use maternity waiting home and associated factors among pregnant women in Gamo Gofa zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2019.

BACKGROUND: A maternity waiting home is a temporary residence in which pregnant women from remote areas wait for their childbirth. It is an approach targeted to advance access to emergency obstetric care services especially, in hard-to-reach areas to escalate institutional delivery to reduce complications that occur during childbirth. Apart from the availability of this service, the intention of pregnant women to utilize the existing service is very important to achieve its goals. Thus, this study aimed to assess the intention to use maternity waiting homes and associated factors among pregnant women. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 605 pregnant women using a multistage sampling technique from March 10 to April 10, 2019, by using a structured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview. The collected data was entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and analyzed using the SPSS version 24 statistical package. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the association. All variables at p-value < 0.25 in bivariate analysis were entered into multivariate analysis. Lastly, a significant association was declared at a P-value of < 0.05 with 95% CI. RESULTS: In this study, the intention to use maternity waiting homes was 295(48.8%, 95%CI: 47%-55%)). Occupation (government employee) (AOR:2.87,95%CI: 1.54-5.36), previous childbirth history (AOR:2.1,95%CI:1.22-3.57), past experience in maternity waiting home use AOR:4.35,95%CI:2.63-7.18), direct (AOR:1.57,95%CI:1.01-2.47) and indirect (AOR: 2.18, 1.38,3.44) subject norms and direct (AOR:3.00,95%CI:2.03-4.43), and indirect (AOR = 1.84,95%CI:1.25-2.71) perceived behavioral control of respondents were significantly associated variables with intention to use maternity waiting home. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of intention to use maternity waiting homes among pregnant women is low. Community disapproval, low self-efficacy, maternal employment, history of previous birth, and past experiences of MWHs utilization are predictors of intention to use MWHs, and intervention programs, such as health education, strengthening and integration of community in health system programs need to be provided.

A birth population-based survey of preterm morbidity and mortality by gestational age.

BACKGROUND: Despite 15-17 millions of annual births in China, there is a paucity of information on prevalence and outcome of preterm birth. We characterized the outcome of preterm births and hospitalized preterm infants by gestational age (GA) in Huai'an in 2015, an emerging prefectural region of China. METHODS: Of 59,245 regional total births, clinical data on 2651 preterm births and 1941 hospitalized preterm neonates were extracted from Huai'an Women and Children's Hospital (HWCH) and non-HWCH hospitals in 2018-2020. Preterm prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates were characterized and compared by hospital categories and GA spectra. Death risks of preterm births and hospitalized preterm infants in the whole region were analyzed with multivariable Poisson regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of extreme, very, moderate, late and total preterm of the regional total births were 0.14, 0.53, 0.72, 3.08 and 4.47%, with GA-specific neonatal mortality rates being 44.4, 15.8, 3.7, 1.5 and 4.3%, respectively. There were 1025 (52.8% of whole region) preterm admissions in HWCH, with significantly lower in-hospital death rate of inborn (33 of 802, 4.1%) than out-born (23 of 223, 10.3%) infants. Compared to non-HWCH, three-fold more neonates in HWCH were under critical care with higher death rate, including most extremely preterm infants. Significantly all-death risks were found for the total preterm births in birth weight <  1000 g, GA < 32 weeks, amniotic fluid contamination, Apgar-5 min < 7, and birth defects. For the hospitalized preterm infants, significantly in-hospital death risks were found in out-born of HWCH, GA < 32 weeks, birth weight <  1000 g, Apgar-5 min < 7, birth defects, respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis and ventilation, whereas born in HWCH, antenatal glucocorticoids, cesarean delivery and surfactant use decreased the death risks. CONCLUSIONS: The integrated data revealed the prevalence, GA-specific morbidity and mortality rate of total preterm births and their hospitalization, demonstrating the efficiency of leading referral center and whole regional perinatal-neonatal network in China. The concept and protocol should be validated in further studies for prevention of preterm birth.

Evaluation of systems reform in public hospitals, Victoria, Australia, to improve access to antenatal care for women of refugee background: An interrupted time series design.

INTRODUCTION: Inequalities in maternal and newborn health persist in many high-income countries, including for women of refugee background. The Bridging the Gap partnership programme in Victoria, Australia, was designed to find new ways to improve the responsiveness of universal maternity and early child health services for women and families of refugee background with the codesign and implementation of iterative quality improvement and demonstration initiatives. One goal of this 'whole-of-system' approach was to improve access to antenatal care. The objective of this paper is to report refugee women's access to hospital-based antenatal care over the period of health system reforms. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The study was designed using an interrupted time series analysis using routinely collected data from two hospital networks (four maternity hospitals) at 6-month intervals during reform activity (January 2014 to December 2016). The sample included women of refugee background and a comparison group of Australian-born women giving birth over the 3 years. We describe the proportions of women of refugee background (1) attending seven or more antenatal visits and (2) attending their first hospital visit at less than 16 weeks' gestation compared over time and to Australian-born women using logistic regression analyses. In total, 10% of births at participating hospitals were to women of refugee background. Refugee women were born in over 35 countries, and at one participating hospital, 40% required an interpreter. Compared with Australian-born women, women of refugee background were of similar age at the time of birth and were more likely to be having their second or subsequent baby and have four or more children. At baseline, 60% of refugee-background women and Australian-born women attended seven or more antenatal visits. Similar trends of improvement over the 6-month time intervals were observed for both populations, increasing to 80% of women at one hospital network having seven or more visits at the final data collection period and 73% at the other network. In contrast, there was a steady decrease in the proportion of women having their first hospital visit at less than 16 weeks' gestation, which was most marked for women of refugee background. Using an interrupted time series of observational data over the period of improvement is limited compared with using a randomisation design, which was not feasible in this setting. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate ascertainment of 'harder-to-reach' populations and ongoing monitoring of quality improvement initiatives are essential to understand the impact of system reforms. Our findings suggest that improvement in total antenatal visits may have been at the expense of recommended access to public hospital antenatal care within 16 weeks of gestation.

Maternal factors associated with prematurity in public maternity hospitals at the Brazilian Western Amazon.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse maternal factors associated with prematurity in public maternity hospitals. DESIGN: Retrospective unmatched case-control study on two public maternity hospitals in the State of Acre, Brazil. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 341 newborn infants of premature birth (< 37 weeks; case group) and 388 newborn infants of term delivery (≥ 37 weeks; control group). METHODS: A validated instrument was used for interviews, and information was collected from hospital records. The variables were divided into five blocks: (1) maternal sociodemographic and economic characteristics, (2) maternal biological and reproductive characteristics, (3) maternal habits, (4) pregnancy complications, and (5) neonatal characteristics. The hierarchical analysis was performed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The risk factors associated with premature birth were as follows: newborn infants of mothers who were born premature (p = 0.005), with low BMI (p = 0.006), history of a previous preterm child (p<0.003), who had stress (p = 0.020) and physical injury during pregnancy (p = 0.025), with quality of prenatal care classified as inadequate II (p = 0.001), which presented abnormal amniotic fluid volume (p<0.001), pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (p<0.001), bleeding (p = 0.013) and hospitalization during pregnancy (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The variables that were associated with premature birth were mother born preterm, low BMI, previous premature child, stress and physical injury during pregnancy, prenatal care inadequate II, bleeding, abnormal amniotic fluid volume, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia and hospitalization during pregnancy. It is important to properly perform prenatal care, having a multidisciplinary approach as support, with the objective of keep up with changes in nutritional classification and monitoring of adverse clinical conditions.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Caesarean Delivery in the Largest Public Maternity Hospital in Angola.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to describe demographic, socioeconomic and pregnancy-related characteristics associated with a caesarean delivery in Luanda. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study which included 995 puerperal women and who were assessed between December 2012 and February 2013 at Lucrécia Paím maternity hospital in Luanda, Angola. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the magnitude of associations (odds ratios-95% confidence intervals) between the type of delivery and variables showing a significant association in the bivariate analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of caesarean section was 44%. Women with caesarean delivery were less educated, resided more often in a periurban area and were more likely to disclose lower family income when compared with women who had vaginal delivery. Living in a periurban area was significantly associated with a caesarean delivery regardless of all covariates considered, for primiparous women (adjusted odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals = 2.14, 1.27 - 3.62) and for multiparous women (1.78, 1.26 - 2.51). Among multiparous women, a lower family income was also significantly associated with caesarean delivery. Hypertensive disorders during the current pregnancy were associated with a caesarean delivery in the multivariate models fitted for primiparous (3.96, 1.57 - 9.98) and for multiparous women (1.68, 1.03 - 2.74). DISCUSSION: The associations between low socioeconomic position and high risk of caesarean delivery demonstrated in this study are consistent results in previous researches curried out in African contexts. The poorer and less educated women, who live far from health facilities, have few antenatal care visits and often arrive with complicated conditions, justifying a caesarean delivery. Lack of qualified human and material resources to manage emergencies in peripheral health centers and delaying in the reference system also leads to an increase in the number of caesareans performed in this particular maternity hospital. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic differences were observed according to the type of delivery. Cesarean section was more prevalent among women with lower income and residents in periurban areas.

Introdução: Este estudo teve como objetivo descrever as características socioeconómicas e demográficas associadas ao parto por cesariana em Angola. Material e Métodos: Estudo transversal que incluiu 995 participantes puérperas no período compreendido entre dezembro de 2012 a fevereiro de 2013 na Maternidade Lucrécia Paím, em Luanda, Angola. A informação foi recolhida através de um questionário estruturado aplicado por entrevistadores treinados. Foi utilizada regressão logística para estimar a magnitude da associação (odds ratios ­ intervalos de confiança a 95%) entre o tipo de parto e as covariáveis. Resultados: A prevalência de cesariana neste estudo foi de 44%. As mulheres que fizeram cesariana eram menos escolarizadas, residiam mais frequentemente em zonas periurbanas e com rendimentos mais baixos quando comparadas com as mulheres que tiveram parto vaginal. Residir numa área periurbana estava significativamente associado ao parto por cesariana independentemente de outros fatores, (odds ratios ajustado para mulheres primíparas, intervalos de confiança 95% = 2,14, 1,27 ­ 3,62) e mulheres multíparas (1,78, 1,26 ­ 2,51). Hipertensão durante a gravidez atual associou-se ao parto por cesariana tanto em primíparas (3,96; 1,57 ­ 9,98) como em multíparas (1,68; 1,03 ­ 2,74). Discussão: As associações entre baixa posição socioeconómica e o alto risco de cesariana demonstradas neste estudo são resultados consistentes em pesquisas prévias realizadas em contextos africanos. As mulheres mais pobres e menos instruídas, que residem longe das unidades de saúde, têm poucas consultas pré-natais e muitas vezes chegam com condições complicadas, justificando um parto por cesariana. A falta de recursos humanos e materiais qualificados para gestão de emergências em centros de saúde periféricos e o atraso no sistema de referência também leva a um aumento no número de cesarianas realizadas nesse hospital particular. Conclusão: Foram observadas diferenças sociodemográficas de acordo com o tipo de parto. O parto por cesariana foi mais frequente entre mulheres com rendimentos mais baixo e residentes em áreas periurbanas.

Predictors of breast milk substitute feeding among newborns in delivery facilities in urban Cambodia and Nepal.

Introducing breast milk substitutes (BMS) in the first days after birth can increase infant morbidity and reduce duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding. This study assessed determinants of BMS feeding among newborns in delivery facilities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among mothers upon discharge from health facilities after delivery: 304 mothers in Kathmandu Valley and 306 mothers in Phnom Penh participated. On the basis of a conceptual framework for prelacteal feeding, multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with BMS feeding prior to facility discharge. In both Phnom Penh and Kathmandu Valley, feeds of BMS were reported by over half of mothers (56.9% and 55.9%, respectively). Receiving a health professional's recommendation to use BMS increased the odds of BMS feeding in both Kathmandu Valley and Phnom Penh (odds ratio: 24.87; confidence interval [6.05, 102.29]; odds ratio: 2.42; CI [1.20, 4.91], respectively). In Kathmandu Valley, recommendations from friends/family and caesarean delivery were also associated with BMS use among mothers. Early initiation of breastfeeding and higher parity were protective against the use of BMS in Kathmandu Valley. Breastfeeding support from a health professional lowered the odds of BMS feeding among newborns. Exposure to BMS promotions outside the health system was prevalent in Phnom Penh (84.6%) and Kathmandu Valley (27.0%) but was not associated with BMS feeds among newborns. Establishment of successful breastfeeding should be prioritized before discharging mothers from delivery facilities, and health professionals should be equipped to support and encourage breastfeeding among all new mothers.

The Profile of Women Attending the National Maternity Hospital Emergency Out Of Hours Service ­ Two Decades On. A Retrospective Review

Introduction This study aimed to review the profile of women attending an out of hours emergency service (OHS) in a maternity hospital and compare it to a previous study. Methods Retrospective study. Demographic information was recorded including timing of presentation, reason and outcome. Results In 2017, 9,020 women attended the OHS, a 334% increase since 1993. On detailed review of 2,143 charts, most (84.7%, n=1,815) were antenatal. The most common reason for presenting to the OHS then was first trimester bleeding. In 2017, over half of antenatal women (51%, n=1,092) presented with "other" reasons, such as vomiting, hypertension or suspected pre-eclampsia. Admission rates significantly decreased from 1993 (38% (n=1,053) in 1993 vs. 16% (n=338) in 2017; p<0.05). Discussion Numbers attending for emergency maternity care have increased in both numbers and variety of presentations. It is important that women are seen and cared for in a compassionate, kind and evidence based manner.

Perinatal care in a northeastern brazilian state: structure, work processes, and evaluation of the components of essential newborn care / Cuidado perinatal em um estado do nordeste brasileiro: estrutura, processos de trabalho e avaliação dos componentes do essential newborn care

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the structure and the processes of care for pregnant women/newborn infants, including the Essential Newborn Care (ENC), in maternity hospitals in Sergipe State, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out between June 2015 and April 2016 in all maternity hospitals of Sergipe with more than 500 deliveries/year (n=11). A questionnaire on the existing structure and work processes was administered to the managers. Subsequently, a representative number of postpartum women from these hospitals were interviewed (n=768). Their medical records, as well as newborn infants' records, were also analyzed. Results: Sergipe has 78 beds of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and 90 beds of Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU) to meet spontaneous and programmed demand. Only six maternity hospitals (54.5%) performed the risk classification, and four (36.3%) had protocols for high-risk parturient care. Regarding the ENC components, only 41% (n=315) of the women had early skin-to-skin contact with their babies, 33.1% (n=254) breastfed in the first hour of life, and 18% (n=138) had a companion always during birth. Conclusions: The distribution of NICU beds between capital city and other cities of the State is adequate, considering Brazilian guidelines. However, there was a low adherence to the protocols for hypertensive and hemorrhagic emergencies, and a low coverage of humanization policies, pregnancy risk classification and ENC practices, especially breastfeeding in the first hour of life, and companion always during birth.

RESUMO Objetivo: Descrever a estrutura e os processos de atendimento a gestante/recém-nascido, incluindo os componentes do Essential Newborn Care (ENC), das maternidades de Sergipe, Brasil. Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado entre junho de 2015 e abril de 2016 em todas as maternidades de Sergipe (n=11) com mais de 500 partos/ano. Foi aplicado um questionário aos gestores sobre a estrutura e os processos de trabalhos existentes. Posteriormente, um número representativo de puérperas desses hospitais foi entrevistado (n=768) e seus prontuários, bem como o dos recém-nascidos, foram analisados. Resultados: Sergipe conta com 78 leitos de Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN) e 90 de Unidade Intermediária (UI) para atendimento da demanda espontânea e programada. Somente seis maternidades (54,5%) realizam a classificação de risco e quatro (36,3%) possuem protocolos para atendimento das parturientes de alto risco. No que se refere aos componentes do ENC, apenas 41% (n=315) das mulheres tiveram contato pele a pele precoce com seu filho, 33,1% (n=254) amamentaram na primeira hora de vida e 18% (n=138) tiveram a presença do acompanhante em todos os momentos do parto. Conclusões: A distribuição de leitos de UTIN entre capital/interior é adequada no Estado, levando-se em consideração a legislação vigente no país. Entretanto, houve baixa adesão aos protocolos das emergências hipertensivas e hemorrágicas, e baixa cobertura das políticas de humanização, da classificação de risco para a gestante e das práticas do ENC, principalmente quanto à amamentação na primeira hora de vida e à presença do acompanhante na parturição.

PERINATAL CARE IN A NORTHEASTERN BRAZILIAN STATE: STRUCTURE, WORK PROCESSES, AND EVALUATION OF THE COMPONENTS OF ESSENTIAL NEWBORN CARE.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the structure and the processes of care for pregnant women/newborn infants, including the Essential Newborn Care (ENC), in maternity hospitals in Sergipe State, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study carried out between June 2015 and April 2016 in all maternity hospitals of Sergipe with more than 500 deliveries/year (n=11). A questionnaire on the existing structure and work processes was administered to the managers. Subsequently, a representative number of postpartum women from these hospitals were interviewed (n=768). Their medical records, as well as newborn infants' records, were also analyzed. RESULTS: Sergipe has 78 beds of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and 90 beds of Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU) to meet spontaneous and programmed demand. Only six maternity hospitals (54.5%) performed the risk classification, and four (36.3%) had protocols for high-risk parturient care. Regarding the ENC components, only 41% (n=315) of the women had early skin-to-skin contact with their babies, 33.1% (n=254) breastfed in the first hour of life, and 18% (n=138) had a companion always during birth. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of NICU beds between capital city and other cities of the State is adequate, considering Brazilian guidelines. However, there was a low adherence to the protocols for hypertensive and hemorrhagic emergencies, and a low coverage of humanization policies, pregnancy risk classification and ENC practices, especially breastfeeding in the first hour of life, and companion always during birth.

External evaluation and self-monitoring of the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative's maternity hospitals in Brazil.

Background: In Brazil, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) proposes following the criteria, the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding", International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and Good birth and delivery practices. Brazilian Baby-Friendly Hospitals are reassessed triennially by external evaluators and annually by self-monitoring. This study aimed to verify if the self-monitoring system fulfills its role of enabling accredited hospitals to assess and improve their compliance with the BFHI criteria. In this sense, we will analyze the self-monitoring evaluation results and compare them with those of the external reassessment. Methods: This descriptive evaluation study of the compliance with the BFHI criteria by the Brazilian Baby-Friendly Hospitals by self-monitoring evaluators from 2010 to 2015 and by external evaluators in 2015. Results: Self-monitoring was performed in all years from 2010 to 2015 by 143 BFHI accredited hospitals. The trend of the levels of compliance with BFHI's criteria according to self-monitoring evaluations was stable over the assessed period. Most criteria presented compliance above 70%, except Step 4 (skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the first hour of life), with mean compliance of 67%. Steps 1 (written policy), 7 (rooming-in) and 9 (give no artificial teats) showed mean compliance above 90%. Regarding the external evaluation carried out in 2015, the criteria with lowest compliance were Step 4 and Woman-Friendly care, both below 50%. Steps 9 and 10 (refer mothers to breastfeeding support groups) reached levels of compliance above 90%. For 2015, self-monitoring provided significant higher compliance levels than those from external evaluations in most criteria, except Step 3 (prenatal information on breastfeeding) and Step 10. There was a difference of more than 30% points between evaluations of Steps 1 (written policy), 2 (training), 5 (show mothers how to breastfeed), Woman-Friendly Care and father or mother stay with their newborn. Conclusions: The self-monitoring system fulfilled partially its role of allowing accredited hospitals to self-assess and improve rates of compliance with BFHI criteria. Future trainings of hospital managers need to address difficulties and identify solutions to improve implementation of Steps 4 and 6.

Manpower capacity and reasons for staff shortage in primary health care maternity centres in Nigeria: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: The heart-breaking maternal and neonatal health indicators in Nigeria are not improving despite previous interventions, such as 'Health for all' and 'Millennium Development Goals. The unattained health-related goals/targets of previous interventions put the success of the new Sustainable Development Goals in doubt if the existing paradigm remains unchanged. Thus, mere branding of health policies without improving what constitutes the health system such as manpower capacity and quality as well as staff-patients ratio will be wasteful efforts. This issue of global public health concern provided an indication for describing the capacity of manpower and reasons for staff shortage in primary level of health that are providing maternity services to women and their new-borns in Nigeria. METHODS: This is an embedded mixed-methods study. Its quantitative strand collected data with the aid of a structured questionnaire from 127 health workers across the 21 purposively selected primary health care centres in five local government areas. Descriptive statistics were employed for analysis. The qualitative strand of the study collected data through in depth interviews from medical officers of health or their representatives. The tape recorded and transcribed data were thematically coded, while reporting was by direct quotes. The mixing of the data from both strands was done in the discussion section. RESULTS: Twenty-nine (22.8%) of the health workers were between ages 51-58; 111 (87.4%) were married, while 44 (34.6%) had worked for duration of 21-33 years in service. Evidences of incompetence were observed among the health workers. A total of 92 (72.4%) had been performing episiotomies on women in labour. Similarly, 69.8% had been repairing vaginal traumas. Nine (7.1%) knew the necessary steps of controlling postpartum vaginal bleeding, while 115 (91.3%) of them had not been trained in Life-Saving Scheme and post-abortions care. CONCLUSION: The shortage of manpower, disproportional skilled/semi-skilled ratio, lack of framework for staff recruitment, staff incompetence and inappropriate childbirth practices show that women were not receiving quality maternal and neonatal cares at the maternity centres.

Length of stay following vaginal deliveries: A population based study in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (North-Eastern Italy), 2005-2015.

BACKGROUND: Lengths of hospital stay (LoS) after childbirth that are too long have a number of health, social and economic drawbacks. For this reason, in several high-income countries LoS has been reduced over the past decades and early discharge (ED) is increasingly applied to low-risk mothers and newborns. METHODS: We conducted a population-based study investigating LoS after chilbirth across all 12 maternity centres of Friuli Venezia-Giulia (FVG), North-Eastern Italy, using a database capturing all registered births in the region from 2005 to 2015 (11 years). Adjusting for clinical factors (clinical conditions of the mother and the newborn), socio-demographic bakground and obstetric history with multivariable logistic regression, we ranked facility centres for LoS that were longer than our proposed ED benchmarks (defined as >2 days for spontaneous vaginal deliveries and >3 days for instrumental vaginal deliveries). The reference was hospital A, a national excellence centre for maternal and child health. RESULTS: The total number of births examined in our database was 109,550, of which 109,257 occurred in hospitals. During these 11 years, the number of births significantly diminished over time, and the pooled mean LoS for spontaneous vaginal deliveries in the whole FVG was 2.9 days. There was a significantly decreasing trend in the proportion of women remaining admitted more than the respective ED cutoffs for both delivery modes. The percentage of women staying longer that the ED benchmarks varied extensively by facility centre, ranging from 32% to 97% for spontaneous vaginal deliveries and 15% to 64% for instrumental vaginal deliveries. All hospitals but G were by far more likely to surpass the ED cutoff for spontaneous deliveries. As compared with hospital A, the most significant adjusted ORs for LoS overcoming the ED thresholds for spontaneous vaginal deliveries were: 89.38 (78.49-101.78); 26.47 (22.35-31.36); 10.42 (9.49-11.44); 10.30 (9.45-11.21) and 8.40 (7.68-9.19) for centres B, D, I, K and E respectively. By contrast the OR was 0.77 (95%CI: 0.72-0.83) for centre G. Similar mitigated patterns were observed also for instrumental vaginal deliveiries. CONCLUSIONS: For spontaneous vaginal deliveries the mean LoS in the whole FVG was shorter than 3.4 days, the average figure most recently reported for the whole of Italy, but higher than other countries' with health systems similar to Italy's. Since our results are controlled for the effect of all other factors, the between-hospital variability we found is likely attributable to the health care provider itself. It can be argued that some maternity centres of FVG may have had ecocomic interest in longer LoS after childbirth, although fear of medico-legal backlashes, internal organizational malfunctions of hospitals and scarce attention of ward staff on performance efficiency shall not be ruled out. It would be therefore important to ensure higher level of coordination between the various maternity services of FVG, which should follow standardized protocols to pursue efficiency of care and allow comparability of health outcomes and costs among them. Improving the performance of FVG and Italian hospitals requires investment in primary care services.

[Factors associated with the involuntary pilgrimage for childbirth care in São Luís (Maranhão State) and Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo State), Brazil: a contribution from the BRISA cohort]. / Fatores associados à peregrinação para o parto em São Luís (Maranhão) e Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo), Brasil: uma contribuição da coorte BRISA.

The objectives of this study were to estimate the involuntary pilgrimage by women in labor in search of childbirth care and to identify factors associated with this endeavor in two Brazilian cities. This was a cross-sectional study nested in the BRISA birth cohort, whose sample consisted of 10,475 women admitted to the selected maternity hospitals for delivery in São Luís (Maranhão State) and Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo State). Interviews were held with questionnaires that contained sociodemographic and obstetric variables. Hierarchical modeling was used, and relative risk was calculated with Poisson regression. Involuntary pilgrimage during labor was more frequent in São Luís (35.8%) than in Ribeirão Preto (5.8%). In São Luís, factors associated with pilgrimage were: first pregnancy (RR = 1.19; 95%CI: 1.08-1.31) and schooling less than 12 complete years. However, age 35 years or older (RR = 0.65; 95%CI: 0.54-0.84) was associated with less pilgrimage. In Ribeirão Preto, such trekking for obstetric care was more frequent in women with high-risk pregnancies (RR = 2.45; 95%CI: 1.81-3.32) and those with gestational age less than 37 weeks (RR = 1.93; 95%CI: 1.50-2.50). Meanwhile, delivery with gestational age equal to or greater than 42 weeks was associated with less pilgrimage (RR = 0.57; 95%CI: 0.33-0.98). In both cities, poor women had to trek more in search of childbirth care and had no guarantee of care, even for those who had received prenatal care. The study revealed the lack of guarantee of universal and equitable access and highlighted the unequal access to childbirth care between Brazil's major geographic regions.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a peregrinação de gestantes no momento do parto e identificar os fatores associados a essa peregrinação em duas cidades brasileiras. Estudo seccional, aninhado à coorte de nascimento BRISA, cuja amostra foi composta por 10.475 gestantes admitidas nas maternidades selecionadas por ocasião do parto em São Luís (Maranhão) e Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo). Entrevistas foram realizadas utilizando-se questionários que continham variáveis sociodemográficas e relacionadas ao parto. Utilizou-se modelagem hierarquizada, e calculou-se o risco relativo utilizando regressão de Poisson. A peregrinação foi mais frequente em São Luís (35,8%) que em Ribeirão Preto (5,8%). Em São Luís, foram fatores associados à maior peregrinação: ser primípara (RR = 1,19; IC95%: 1,08-1,31) e ter escolaridade menor que 12 ou mais anos de estudo. Entretanto, ter 35 anos ou mais (RR = 0,65; IC95%: 0,54-0,84) foi fator associado à menor peregrinação. Em Ribeirão Preto, peregrinaram com maior frequência as gestantes cujos partos foram de alto risco (RR = 2,45; IC95%: 1,81-3,32) e com idade gestacional inferior a 37 semanas (RR = 1,93; IC95%: 1,50-2,50). No entanto, partos com idade gestacional igual ou acima de 42 semanas foi um fator associado à menor peregrinação (RR = 0,57; IC95%: 0,33-0,98). Nas duas cidades, gestantes pobres peregrinaram com maior frequência, e sem garantia de que seriam atendidas, mesmo dentre as que realizaram o pré-natal. O estudo evidenciou ausência da garantia de acesso universal e equânime e reafirmou a desigualdade de acesso à assistência ao parto entre as regiões brasileiras.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estimar los desplazamientos largos de gestantes en el momento del parto e identificar los factores asociados a estos desplazamientos en dos ciudades brasileñas. Se trata de una investigación seccional, encajada en la cohorte de nacimiento BRISA, cuya muestra estuvo compuesta por 10.475 gestantes, admitidas en las maternidades seleccionadas para dar a luz en São Luís (Maranhão) y Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo). Las entrevistas se realizaron utilizando cuestionarios que contenían variables sociodemográficas y relacionadas con el parto. Se utilizó un modelado jerarquizado, y se calculó el riesgo relativo utilizando la regresión de Poisson. Los desplazamientos fueron más frecuentes en São Luís (35,8%) que en Ribeirão Preto (5,8%). En São Luís, los factores asociados a mayores desplazamientos fueron: ser primípara (RR = 1,19; IC95%: 1,08-1,31) y contar con una escolaridad menor a 12 o más años de estudio. Sin embargo, tener 35 años o más (RR = 0,65; IC95%: 0,54-0,84) fue un factor asociado a menores desplazamientos. En Ribeirão Preto, se desplazaron con mayor frecuencia las gestantes cuyos partos fueron de alto riesgo (RR = 2,45; IC95%: 1,81-3,32) y con una edad gestacional inferior a 37 semanas (RR = 1,93; IC95%: 1,50-2,50). Sin embargo, los partos con una edad gestacional igual o por encima de las 42 semanas fue un factor asociado a un menor desplazamiento (RR = 0,57; IC95%: 0,33-0,98). En las dos ciudades, las gestantes pobres se desplazaron con mayor frecuencia, y sin garantía de que serían atendidas, incluso entre quienes realizaron seguimiento prenatal. El estudio evidenció la inexistencia de garantías de acceso universal y ecuánime a la salud y reafirmó la desigualdad de acceso en la asistencia al parto entre regiones brasileñas.

The Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting study: the IBUS study : A prospective birth cohort study comparing different models of care for women having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies at two major maternity hospitals in urban South East Queensland, Australia.

BACKGROUND: With persisting maternal and infant health disparities, new models of maternity care are needed to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. To date, there is limited evidence of successful and sustainable programs. Birthing on Country is a term used to describe an emerging evidence-based and community-led model of maternity care for Indigenous families; its impact requires evaluation. METHODS: Mixed-methods prospective birth cohort study comparing different models of care for women having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies at two major maternity hospitals in urban South East Queensland (2015-2019). Includes women's surveys (approximately 20 weeks gestation, 36 weeks gestation, two and six months postnatal) and infant assessments (six months postnatal), clinical outcomes and cost comparison, and qualitative interviews with women and staff. DISCUSSION: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, clinical and cost-effectiveness of a Birthing on Country model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in an urban setting. If successful, findings will inform implementation of the model with similar communities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry # ACTRN12618001365257 . Registered 14 August 2018 (retrospectively registered).

Neonatal pain assessment practices in the maternity ward (delivery room and postpartum ward): We can improve!

BACKGROUND: Almost 20% of neonates experience pain during delivery or the period following birth. AIM: To describe the practices of pain assessment in the maternity wards in the greater Paris area, France. METHODS: An e-mail questionnaire was sent to each practitioner in the 96 maternity units in Île de France between December 2013 and February 2014. RESULTS: In all, 63 (65%) questionnaires were completed. Pain was assessed in 43 (68%) maternity units, mostly using the French scale "échelle de douleur et d'inconfort du nouveau-né" (EDIN). In total, 20 maternity units (32%) reported no pain assessment, mainly because they considered it to be too time-consuming, or because they argued that no pain scale was adequate; they relied on clinical signs or on the obstetric history for assessing and treating pain. About 40% of the maternity units using the EDIN scale judged it unsuitable for evaluating pain in term neonates in maternity units. CONCLUSION: This first regional study on pain assessment in the maternity ward showed that nearly two thirds of centers assessed pain. This rate may be overestimated because of the reporting method used. The EDIN scale is the most widely used tool but seems unsuitable especially for the delivery room setting. Studies should be conducted to test other tools for assessing neonatal pain in the delivery room.

Active health Ombudsman service: evaluation of the quality of delivery and birth care.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the active health Ombudsman service as an instrument to evaluate the quality of delivery and birth care in the Cegonha Network of the Federal District of Brazil. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of the telephone survey type carried out with 1,007 mothers with deliveries between October 15, 2013 and November 19, 2013 in the twelve public maternity hospitals that make up the Cegonha Network of the Federal District of Brazil. The instrument has 25 multiple choice or Likert scale questions, including sociodemographic data and acceptability evaluation in five domains: accessibility, relationship between the patient and health professionals, conditions of the structure of the service, information to the patient, and equity and opinion of the patient. We have studied qualitative or categorical variables according to the frequency and distribution of proportions. We have used the score transformed into a scale from zero to 100 for the analysis of the Likert-type scale questions. Results have been expressed as mean and standard deviation. RESULTS: Access to prenatal appointments was evaluated as good or excellent by 86.1% of the participants and laboratory tests was evaluated as good or excellent by 85.2% of them. The access to imaging tests was evaluations as good or excellent by 45.7% of the women; 79.5% of the interviewees had their delivery in the maternity hospital where they sought initial care and 18.3% received a home visit by a community health agent after discharge. Most women reported that newborns were placed skin-to-skin immediately after birth, 48.9% had a companion at the time of the delivery, 76.3% were advised about the first appointment of the newborn, and 94.8% were advised on breastfeeding in the maternity hospital. Regarding the evaluation of health professionals, 85.9% of the women considered reception and cordiality as good or excellent at the prenatal care and 94.8% considered it as good or excellent at the maternity hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The active health Ombudsman service has contributed to evaluate the quality of public management by allowing the incorporation of the perspective of users of the health service in the evaluation of the acceptability of the Cegonha Network in the Federal District of Brazil.

[The cost of obstetric and neonatal care: Case study of the Jason Sendwe hospital maternity in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015]. / Le coût des soins obstétricaux et néonatals : étude des cas à la maternité de l'hôpital Jason Sendwe à Lubumbashi, République démocratique du Congo, en 2015.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the user cost for obtaining obstetric and neonatal care during childbirth in the Jason Sendwe hospital in the city of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the maternity of the Jason Sendwe hospital in Lubumbashi, reviewing charts and using a questionnaire given to 145 women who gave birth from 1st August to 30th September 2015. We calculated the cost based on the amounts paid by users for obtaining care, expressed in US dollars ($) at an exchange rate of 900 Congolese Francs (CDF) for $1. RESULTS: The average age of parturients was 27±6 years (m±SD). Nearly 9 out of 10 women were married (84.8%), 24.1% had a primary school educational level. The majority (62.1%) had no occupational activity and the average monthly income of those employed was $28. Many of their spouses were self-employed (36.6%) with an average monthly income of $113. Hemorrhage was the most common complication (12.4%); perinatal mortality was 12.4%, and was only registered in cases of dystocia. Cost of care for eutocic delivery was 5 times greater than for complicated vaginal delivery that in turn had a 2-fold lower cost than caesarean section. It follows from this study that the cost of care for eutocic delivery, complicated vaginal delivery and cesarean section was, respectively: 1.4%, 7.5%, and 13.4% of annual household income. In general, in case of childbirth, 51%, 40.7%, and 34.4% of households devoted more than 5%, 10% and 20% respectively of their annual income to obtain obstetric and neonatal care. CONCLUSION: The cost of obstetric and neonatal care is catastrophically high for households in Lubumashi. Undoubtedly, those who seek hospital care for childbirth must cope with financial problems related to the incurred debt. The State should review its healthcare financial policy to ensure access to quality care for all.

Prevalence and Trends in Donor Milk Use in the Well-Baby Nursery: A Survey of Northeast United States Birth Hospitals.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pasteurized donor human milk ("donor milk") is an alternative to formula for supplementation of breastfed infants. We conducted a survey to determine (1) prevalence, trends, and hospital-level correlates of donor milk use for healthy newborns in the northeast United States and (2) clinician knowledge and opinions regarding this practice. METHODS: We conducted parallel surveys of clinicians (88% nurse and/or lactation consultant) at (1) all birth hospitals in Massachusetts (MA) and (2) all birth hospitals served by a northeast United States milk bank. We asked about hospital use of donor milk for newborns ≥35 weeks' gestation and receiving Level I care in well nursery, hospital-related factors we hypothesized would be associated with this practice, and clinician knowledge and opinions about donor milk use. RESULTS: 35/46 (76%) of MA birth hospitals and 51/69 (74%) of hospitals served by the milk bank responded; 71 unique hospitals were included. Twenty-nine percent of MA birth hospitals and 43% of hospitals served by the milk bank reported using donor milk for healthy newborns. Hospitals that used donor milk for healthy newborns had higher exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge than hospitals that did not (77% versus 56%, p = 0.02). Eighty-three percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that using donor milk is an effective way to increase the hospital's exclusive breastfeeding rate. CONCLUSIONS: Many northeast United States birth hospitals currently use donor milk for healthy newborns. This practice is associated with higher exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge. Relationships with breastfeeding after discharge and related outcomes are unknown.