The effects of a quality improvement project to reduce caesarean sections in selected private hospitals in Brazil.

Background: Brazil is one of the countries with the highest rates of caesarean sections (CS), reaching almost 90% of births in the private sector. A quality improvement project called "Adequate Childbirth Project (PPA)" was conceived to reduce CS in the private sector. This project consisted of four primary components: "Governance", "Participation of Women", "Reorganization of Care" and "Monitoring".

An implementation analysis of a quality improvement project to reduce cesarean section in Brazilian private hospitals.

Background: Brazil has one of the highest prevalence of cesarean sections in the world. The private health system is responsible for carrying out most of these surgical procedures. A quality improvement project called Adequate Childbirth Project ("Projeto Parto Adequado"- PPA) was developed to identify models of care for labor and childbirth, which place value on vaginal birth and reduce the frequency of cesarean sections without a clinical indication.

Migration process of Venezuelan women to Brazil: living conditions and use of health services in Manaus and Boa Vista, 2018-2021.

Background: The last decade saw the emergence of a new significant migration corridor due to the mass migration of Venezuelans to neighboring countries in South America. Since 2018, Brazil became the third host country of Venezuelan displaced populations. Little is known about how migratory processes affect needs, access to social programs, and public health services of migrant women.

Women's preference for a vaginal birth in Brazilian private hospitals: effects of a quality improvement project.

Background: In 2015, a quality improvement project called "Adequate Childbirth Project" (PPA) was implemented in Brazilian private hospitals in order to reduce cesarean sections without clinical indication. The PPA is structured in four components, one of which is directed at women and families. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of PPA on women's preference for vaginal birth (VB) at the end of pregnancy.

Quality improvement of childbirth care (Adequate Birth Project) and the assessment of women's birth experience in Brazil: a structural equation modelling of a cross-sectional research.

Background: Brazil's maternity care is highly medicalized, and obstetric interventions in labour and birth are high, mainly in private health system. The Adequate Birth Project (PPA-Projeto Parto Adequado) is quality improvement project designed to reduce unnecessary caesarian section rates in private hospitals in Brazil. This study evaluated the association between the participation of the PPA and the birth experience assessed by the women.

A population-based study of the relationship between advanced maternal age and premature/early-term birth in Brazil.

Objective: To verify whether advanced maternal age (AMA), defined as women of ≥35 years, is associated with premature and early-term birth in Brazil, according to the onset of labor (spontaneous or provider-initiated).

Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study. The "Birth in Brazil" study interviewed 23 894 puerperal women between 2011 and 2012, in all regions of Brazil.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of a quality improvement program to reduce caesarean sections in Brazilian private hospitals: a case study.

Background: In 2015, a quality improvement project of childbirth care called Adequate Childbirth Project ("Projeto Parto Adequado"- PPA) was implemented in Brazilian public and private hospitals, aiming to improve the quality of childbirth care and to reduce caesarean sections without clinical indications. The objective of this study is to conduct an economic analysis of two models of care existing in a private Brazilian hospital-the model following the recommendations of the PPA and the standard of care model-in reducing the proportion of caesarean sections.

Methods: We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using data from one of the private hospitals included in the PPA project.

Risk stratification for small for gestational age for the Brazilian population: a secondary analysis of the Birth in Brazil study.

Risk-stratification screening for SGA has been proposed in high-income countries to prevent perinatal morbidity and mortality. There is paucity of data from middle-income settings. The aim of this study is to explore risk factors for SGA in Brazil and assess potential for risk stratification.

Ethnic differences in maternal near miss.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between ethnic differences and the occurrence of maternal near miss (MNM) in the Amazon and Northeast regions of Brazil.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a national cross-sectional study focused on the assessment of care to pregnancy, childbirth, and infants under 1 year of age. Ethnicity was classified as white, black or indigenous.

Factors associated with cesarean delivery during labor in primiparous women assisted in the Brazilian Public Health System: data from a National Survey.

Background: The rate of cesarean delivery (CD) in Brazil has increased over the past 40 years. The CD rate in public services is three times above the World Health Organization recommended values. Among strategies to reduce CD, the most important is reduction of primary cesarean.

Use of Robson classification to assess cesarean section rate in Brazil: the role of source of payment for childbirth.

Background: Cesarean section (CS) rates are increasing worldwide but there is some concern with this trend because of potential maternal and perinatal risks. The Robson classification is the standard method to monitor and compare CS rates. Our objective was to analyze CS rates in Brazil according to source of payment for childbirth (public or private) using the Robson classification.

Neonatal care in Brazil: hospital structure and adequacy according to newborn obstetric risk.

Background: In Brazil, hospital birth care is available to all, but there are important differences between hospitals in the public and private sectors, geographical regions and capitals/inland cities, resulting in inequalities of infant health.

Aims: To assess the hospital structure for birth care in Brazil and analyze hospital adequacy to care for newborns according to levels of risk.

Methods: Data were collected as part of a nationwide hospital-based cohort study, 'Birth in Brazil'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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%).

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.

Birth in Brazil: national survey into labour and birth.

Background: Caesarean section rates in Brazil have been steadily increasing. In 2009, for the first time, the number of children born by this type of procedure was greater than the number of vaginal births. Caesarean section is associated with a series of adverse effects on the women and newborn, and recent evidence suggests that the increasing rates of prematurity and low birth weight in Brazil are associated to the increasing rates of Caesarean section and labour induction.

Health conditions and health-policy innovations in Brazil: the way forward.

Brazil is a large complex country that is undergoing rapid economic, social, and environmental change. In this Series of six articles, we have reported important improvements in health status and life expectancy, which can be ascribed largely to progress in social determinants of health and to implementation of a comprehensive national health system with strong social participation. Many challenges remain, however.

Maternal and child health in Brazil: progress and challenges.

In the past three decades, Brazil has undergone rapid changes in major social determinants of health and in the organisation of health services. In this report, we examine how these changes have affected indicators of maternal health, child health, and child nutrition. We use data from vital statistics, population censuses, demographic and health surveys, and published reports.