Are vitamin D intake and serum levels in the mid-trimester of pregnancy associated with preeclampsia? Results from a Brazilian multicentre cohort.

Objective: To explore the association between serum levels and food intake of Vitamin D (VD) among healthy women in mid-pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Study Design: In a Brazilian multicentre cohort of healthy nulliparous pregnant women from five maternity centres we developed a nested case-control analysis comparing cases with and without preeclampsia. Women were enrolled and followed during prenatal care, including only singleton pregnancies, without any fetal malformations or previous chronic maternal disease.

The experience of pregnant women and their families who were infected with covid-19 before vaccination: A qualitative approach within a multicenter study in Brazil.

Background: Pregnant and postpartum women infected by COVID-19 are at increased risk of adverse outcomes, including negative effects on their mental health. Brazilian maternal mortality rate due to COVID-19 is 2.5 times higher than overall mortality rates.

The effect of body mass index on maternal and perinatal outcomes in COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and postpartum: Secondary analysis from the REBRACO cohort study.

Objectives: To compare maternal and perinatal outcomes among women with obesity, overweight, and normal body mass index, associated with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and postpartum.

Method: Prospective Cohort Study, within the REBRACO (Brazilian Network of COVID-19 in Pregnancy) multicenter initiative. Confirmed positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 were included, and women categorized into three groups according to their pre-pregnancy BMI: obesity (BMI ≥ 30), overweight (BMI <30 but >25), and normal BMI.

Nutricional intake, maternal outcomes and knowledge on preeclampsia prevention: Was there impact during the COVID-19 pandemic among women with hypertension?

Aim: Compare nutritional intake, weight gain, frequency of superimposed pre-eclampsia (SPE) and adequate use/knowledge on preventive interventions for PE, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among pregnant women with chronic hypertension (CH) METHODS: Prospective cohort of pregnant women with CH. Inclusion between 13 and 25 weeks, with sociodemographic characterization, food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall (R24h). Indirect adherence test MEDTAKE was employed to investigate adequate use/understanding of calcium and aspirin.

Impacts of childbirth on anxiety, disability, and depression: Results from a Brazilian cohort.

Conditions such as violence, drug abuse, sexual satisfaction, anxiety, depression, and disability interfere with a healthy pregnancy and can also account for maternal morbidity. The instrument WOICE was built by WHO to measure it. We applied WOICE in a prospective cohort of 125 pregnant women, using a before-after approach, during the third trimester of pregnancy, and after 42 until 90 days of childbirth.

The impact of maternal morbidity on cesarean section rates: exploring a Latin American network of sentinel facilities using the Robson's Ten Group Classification System.

Background: Latin America has the highest Cesarean Section Rates (CSR) in the world. Robson's Ten Group Classification System (RTGCS) was developed to enable understanding the CSR in different groups of women, classified according to obstetric characteristics into one of ten groups. The size of each CS group may provide helpful data on quality of care in a determined region or setting.

Morphological placental findings in women infected with SARS-CoV-2 according to trimester of pregnancy and severity of disease.

Introduction: Placental morphology findings in SARS-CoV-2 infection are considered nonspecific, although the role of trimester and severity of infection are underreported. Therefore, we aimed to investigate abnormal placental morphology, according to these two criteria.

Methods: This is an ancillary analysis of a prospective cohort study of pregnant women with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, managed in one maternity, from March 2020 to October 2021.

Brazilian Black Women are at Higher Risk for COVID-19 Complications: An Analysis of REBRACO, a National Cohort.

Objective:  To evaluate the impact of the race (Black versus non-Black) on maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19 in Brazil.

Methods:  This is a subanalysis of REBRACO, a Brazilian multicenter cohort study designed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women. From February 2020 until February 2021, 15 maternity hospitals in Brazil collected data on women with respiratory symptoms.

Gestational hypertension as a factor associated with chronic kidney disease: the importance of obstetric history of women undergoing hemodialysis.

Introduction: Pregnancy-related complications may impact women's reproductive cycle and health through their lives. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic, clinical, and obstetric history of women undergoing hemodialysis.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in a specialized health facility with four hemodialysis units.

Role of biomarkers (sFlt-1/PlGF) in cases of COVID-19 for distinguishing preeclampsia and guiding clinical management.

Objectives: To analyze soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factors (PlGF) concentrations and their ratio in pregnant and postpartum women with suspected COVID-19, and further investigate conditions associated with an increased ratio (sFlt-1/PlGF > 38), including preeclampsia (PE) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Study Design: The present study is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort. Blood samples were collected at time of COVID-19 investigation and the serum measurements of sFlt-1 and PlGF were performed.

Preeclampsia among women with COVID-19 during pregnancy and its impact on maternal and perinatal outcomes: Results from a national multicenter study on COVID in Brazil, the REBRACO initiative.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of preeclampsia among cases of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and the association between both conditions, in a multicenter cohort of Brazilian women with respiratory symptoms.

Study Design: Ancillary analysis of the Brazilian Network of COVID-19 in Obstetrics (REBRACO) study. We performed a nested case-control analysis selecting all women with COVID-19 and compared outcomes between women with and without PE.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic inside maternities in Brazil: A mixed-method study within the REBRACO initiative.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges in obstetric health care services. Preparedness, development, and implementation of new protocols were part of the needed response. This study aims to describe the strategies implemented and the perspectives of health managers on the challenges to face the pandemic in 16 different maternity hospitals that comprise a multicenter study in Brazil, called REBRACO (Brazilian network of COVID-19 during pregnancy).

Awareness towards an increasing concern during pregnancy: maternal and perinatal outcomes of women with cancer.

Background: Increased incidence of cancer in women of childbearing age and improvements on treatment for preserving fertility have led to higher frequency of pregnancy during or after cancer treatment.

Objective: This study aimed to describe maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with cancer and pregnancy and, as a secondary analysis, to compare outcomes of women with active disease and with remission before pregnancy.

Study Design: We performed a retrospective study of women followed up at a referral center owing to a history of cancer or cancer diagnosed during pregnancy.

Validation of the fullPIERS model for prediction of adverse outcomes in preeclampsia at a referral center.

Objectives: To validate the use of fullPIERS to predict maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes in a referral center.

Methods: Cross-sectional study including all pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) at a referral center in southeast Brazil. The prevalence of PE and adverse outcomes were assessed.

Analgesia for vaginal birth: Secondary analysis from the WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health.

Objective: To evaluate the use of analgesia during labor in women who had a vaginal birth and to determine the factors associated with its use.

Methods: A secondary analysis was performed of the WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health, a cross-sectional, facility-based survey including 359 healthcare facilities in 29 countries. The prevalence of analgesia use for vaginal birth in different countries was reported according to the Human Development Index (HDI).

Can pre-eclampsia explain higher cesarean rates in the different groups of Robson's classification?

Objective: To evaluate the impact of pre-eclampsia on cesarean delivery by using the Robson classification.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study including all women who delivered in a referral maternity hospital in southeast Brazil from January 2017 to February 2018. Women were classified into 1 of 10 Robson groups and then further subdivided into pre-eclampsia (PE) and non-PE (NPE) groups.

Overall Maternal Morbidity during Pregnancy Identified with the WHO-WOICE Instrument.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of nonsevere maternal morbidity (including overall health, domestic and sexual violence, functionality, and mental health) in women during antenatal care and further analyze factors associated with compromised mental functioning and clinical health by administration of the WHO's WOICE 2.0 instrument.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a referral center in Brazil with an interview and questionnaire administered to pregnant women at 28 weeks of gestation and beyond.

Characterization of Placental Infection by Zika Virus in Humans: A Review of the Literature.

Objective:  The aim of the current review is to present a systematic evaluation of reported human placental findings in cases of zika virus (ZIKV) infection.

Data Sources:  We reviewed the EMBASE, PUBMED, and SCIELO databases until June 2019, without language restrictions.

Selection Of Studies:  The search terms AND were used.

Call to action for a South American network to fight COVID-19 in pregnancy.

A call to action for joint efforts by South American centers to tackle COVID‐19 in pregnancy.

Use of Intensive Care Unit in Women with Severe Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Death: Results from a National Multicenter Study.

Objective:  To assess the use of the intensive care unit (ICU) and its effect on maternal mortality (MM) among women with severe maternal morbidity (SMM).

Materials And Methods:  A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study on surveillance of SMM in 27 Brazilian obstetric referral centers. The analysis focused on the association between ICU use and maternal death according to individual characteristics and disease severity.

The role of maternal infection in preterm birth: evidence from the Brazilian Multicentre Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP).

Objectives: Evidence suggests that infection or inflammation is a major contributor to early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the development and causes of maternal infection associated with maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with sPTB.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a multicenter cross-sectional study with a nested case-control component, the Brazilian Multicentre Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP), conducted from April 2011 to July 2012 in 20 Brazilian referral obstetric hospitals.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes related to superimposed pre-eclampsia in a Brazilian cohort of women with chronic hypertension.

Objective: To describe maternal and perinatal outcomes for women with chronic hypertension, comparing those with superimposed pre-eclampsia (SPE) with those without pre-eclampsia (NPE).

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary hospital in Brazil, the records of women with chronic hypertension were reviewed between January 1, 2012, and May 31, 2017, in order to compare maternal and perinatal outcomes among those with and without SPE. Poisson regression was performed to investigate factors independently associated with severe pre-eclampsia.

Host and viral mechanisms of congenital Zika syndrome.

In 2015-2016, in the Americas, and especially in northeast Brazil, a significant number of cases of microcephaly and other congenital brain abnormalities were linked with an outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women. While maternal symptoms of ZIKV are generally mild and self-limiting, clinical presentation in fetuses and newborns infected is extensive and includes microcephaly, decreased cortical development, atrophy and hypoplasia of the cerebellum and cerebellar vermis, arthrogryposis, and polyhydramnios. The term congenital ZIKV syndrome (CZS) was introduced to describe the range of findings associated with maternal-fetal ZIKV transmission.