Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy as a major cause of preterm birth and adverse perinatal outcomes: findings from a Brazilian National Survey.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy among Brazilian women with preterm births and to compare the epidemiological characteristics and perinatal outcomes among preterm births of women with and without hypertension.

Methods: This was a secondary cross-sectional analysis of the Brazilian Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth. During the study period, all women with preterm births were included and further split into two groups according to the occurrence of any hypertensive disorder during pregnancy.

Diabetes among women with preterm births: outcomes of a Brazilian multicenter study.

Objective: The objective was to compare the maternal and perinatal characteristics and outcomes between women with and without diabetes in a Brazilian cohort of women with preterm births.

Methods: This was an ancillary analysis of the Brazilian Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth, which included 4,150 preterm births. This analysis divided preterm births into two groups according to the presence of diabetes; pregestational and gestational diabetes were clustered in the same Diabetes Group.

Perinatal Outcomes and Factors Associated with Ethnic Group in cases of Preterm Birth: the Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth in Brazil.

Objective:  To investigate the characteristics of women who had preterm birth (PTB) and related outcomes according to ethnicity.

Methods:  A secondary analysis of a multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in Brazil. Women who had PTB were classified by self-report as white and non-white.

Perspectives of healthcare workers on the morality of abortion: a multicenter study in seven Brazilian public hospitals.

We used the questionnaire "Mosaic of Opinions on Induced Abortion" to conduct a multi-centered study to evaluate the perspectives of physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists and pharmacists on the morality of abortion. In all, 254 participants constituted the sample. The inadequate knowledge on Brazilian abortion laws was the only determinant negatively associated with the construct "Sexual and Reproductive Rights", corroborating the hypothesis that a better understanding of abortion legislation could mitigate the opposition of some professionals to the ethical perspective that access to safe abortion should be seen as a sexual and reproductive right.

Measurement properties of the questionnaire "Mosaic of opinions on induced abortion": a multicenter study in seven Brazilian hospitals.

Objective: In Brasil, abortion is legal in cases of rape, when there is a risk of maternal death, and in cases of fetal anencephaly. However, the literature reports that some doctors refuse to care for women with such demands or come to perform it in a discriminatory manner. Pretest, test and evaluate the measurement properties of the "Mosaic of Opinions on Induced Abortion," a questionnaire developed to investigate the perspectives of Brazilian healthcare professionals about the morality of abortion.

Tocolysis among Women with Preterm Birth: Associated Factors and Outcomes from a Multicenter Study in Brazil.

Objective:  To evaluate the use of tocolysis in cases of preterm birth due to spontaneous preterm labor in a Brazilian sample.

Methods:  A sample of 1,491 women with preterm birth due to spontaneous preterm labor were assessed, considering treatment with tocolysis or expectant management, according to gestational age at birth (< 34 weeks and 34 to 36 + 6 weeks) and drugs prescribed. The study took place in 20 Brazilian hospitals from April 2011 to July 2012.

Effectiveness and safety of a new vaginal misoprostol product specifically labeled for cervical ripening and labor induction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of misoprostol in two different formulations: vaginal tablets of 25 microg and one-eighth of a 200-microg oral tablet, also administered intravaginally, for cervical ripening and labor induction of term pregnancies with an indication for that.

Methods: A single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was carried out in 120 pregnant women who randomly received one of the two formulations. The main dependent variables were mode of delivery, need for additional oxytocin, time between beginning of induction and delivery, perinatal results, complications, and maternal side effects.