Maternal Deaths in Brazil Are Reflection of The Pandemic Denial in the Bolsonaro Administration, Sa

[Judi Lynn]

Maternal Deaths in Brazil Are Reflection of The Pandemic Denial in the Bolsonaro Administration, Says Researcher

In 2021, the disease was responsible for 52% of deaths among pregnant and postpartum women in Brazil

Mar.2.2023 1:32PM

While the classic causes of maternal death continue relentlessly in Brazil, the country is still investigating deaths from Covid in 2021, the year in which the disease alone was responsible for 52% of deaths of pregnant and puerperal women (1,524 out of a total of 2941).

A recent review of studies published in the journal BMJ Global Health shows that pregnant women with Covid have eight times more risk of death compared to uninfected pregnant women. Newborns also have a greater chance of complications in cases where the mother contracted Sars-CoV-2. An analysis published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas, in 2022, identified at least three barriers that Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women faced during the pandemic.

The first was the difficulty in accessing diagnostic tests. The second was to find vacancies in hospitals. There was an average delay of seven days between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization. Family members heard in the analysis report that the pregnant women went several times to the same hospital or to up to five different institutions before being admitted. The third barrier was access to adequate intensive care after hospitalization.

Between 2020 and 2021, 1 in 5 dead pregnant women did not get access to the ICU, and 1 in 3 who were in the ICU were not intubated, according to data from the OOBr (Brazilian Obstetric Observatory). For obstetrician Rossana Pulcineli Francisco, professor at USP and coordinator of the Brazilian Obstetric Observatory, this factor, associated with the lack of qualified professionals for assistance, was what most contributed to the high mortality rate.

. . .

According to doctor Fátima Marinho, senior researcher at Vital Strategies, the high number of maternal deaths is a reflection of the denial of the pandemic and of sexual and reproductive rights in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro. "The lack of national coordination with the states and municipalities left each of us all on our own. There was no collective work to protect pregnant and postpartum women, even though there was already an alert that they represented a higher risk group."

More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2023/03/maternal-deaths-in-brazil-are-reflection-of-the-pandemic-denial-in-the-bolsonaro-administration-says-researcher.shtml