The Caesarean Section as a Delivery of the Future
About the Indians we have already written about.
From the mixture with blacks, childbirth underwent a process that included prayers, superstitions, benetions.
In the contryside, the original position was mantained, with the woman squatting down in low stools, with help from the midwife, who also prepared the superstitions.
In earthen figurines from the Northeast of Brazil there are figures of women giving birth in low stools such as are used in some places until today.
In the cities, childbirth was and still is helped by practical midwives. Many famous Brazilian obstetricians were born in these women’s hands.
Childbirth took place in the hospital only when there were serious problems.
Until the decade of 1960 there was a school for practical midwives.
Childbirth was routinely hospitalized after the 1964 Revolution, when the services of medical examination at home became extinct, medical assistance institutions were unified and childbirth became an exclusive attribution of the doctors.
Childbirth through caesarian surgery is paid at a rate of three times more than the vaginal deliveries. The anesthesia for he birth is not paid. In medical academy some doctors refer to caesarian surgery as the childbirth of the future. The number of caesarian surgeries rises, becoming the highest in the planet. Its incidence is directly proportional to the socioeconomic level of the patient.
Prevalence of Cesarean Delivery
National Demography and Health Survey
Brazil 1986 - 1996
|
Region |
1986 |
1996 |
|
Rio de Janeiro |
43,2 |
43,3 |
|
São Paulo |
43,2 |
52,1 |
|
South |
29,3 |
44,6 |
|
Midwest |
34,4 |
41 |
|
Northeast |
18,6 |
20,4 |
|
North |
- |
25,2 |
Live Birth System
Percentage of Caesarean sections with respect to some characteristics of the mother
Brazil 1995
|
Maternal Age |
Maternal Instruction |
Gestational Age |
Birth Weight |
||||
|
Age |
% |
Formation |
% |
Weeks |
% |
Grams |
% |
|
9-14 |
30,8 |
None |
16,7 |
<21 |
24,4 |
<900 |
21,5 |
|
15-19 |
12 |
1º incomplete |
31,2 |
22-27 |
21,6 |
1000-1499 |
36,6 |
|
20-29 |
40,7 |
1º complete |
41,6 |
28-36 |
34 |
1500-2499 |
38,8 |
|
30-39 |
39,2 |
2º complete |
59,6 |
37-41 |
37,7 |
2500-3999 |
40,8 |
|
40-49 |
26,3 |
Higher |
75,2 |
+ 42 |
30,7 |
+ 4000 |
46,1 |
Source: SINASC/MS, UNICEF Brazil.
Infant Mortality by Regions
Brazil 1980 - 1990 - 1996
|
Regions |
1980 |
1990 |
1996 |
Variation 80-90 |
Variation 90-96 |
|
Brazil |
85,6 |
47,8 |
37,5 |
-44,1% |
-21,5% |
|
North |
83,6 |
44,6 |
36,1 |
-46,6% |
-19,5% |
|
Northeast |
120,5 |
74,3 |
60,4 |
-38,3% |
-19,1% |
|
Southeast |
61 |
31,2 |
25,9 |
-48,8% |
-6,9% |
|
South |
55,5 |
27,6 |
22,9 |
-50,2% |
-17% |
|
Midwest |
66,4 |
31,2 |
25,8 |
-53% |
-22,8% |
Source: Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade/MS. Cálculo de Celso Simões (IBGE)
Infant Mortality Selected Causes
Brazil 1985 - 1990 - 1995
|
COEFFICIENT |
1985 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
% Variation 85/90 |
% Variation 90/95 |
|
Child Mortality * |
66,6 |
47,8 |
45,2 |
43 |
41,1 |
39,6 |
38,4 |
-31,8 |
-19,6 |
|
CMI for diarrhea |
12,6 |
6,6 |
5,3 |
5,1 |
48,8 |
4,4 |
3,7 |
- |
-43,9 |
|
CMI for IRA |
8,3 |
6,9 |
5,5 |
5,6 |
5,5 |
5,2 |
4,7 |
-57,2 |
-31,8 |
|
CMI for perinatal conditions |
26,9 |
20,9 |
22,3 |
20,3 |
19,3 |
19,2 |
19,4 |
-5,6 |
-7,1 |
* Coefficient of mortality per 1000 live births
Source: Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade/MS. Cálculo de Celso Simões (IBGE)
Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality in Brazil
Document Prepared by:
Ana Goretti Kalume Maranhão – Ministry of Health of Brazil
Marinice M. Coutinho Joaquim – Ministry of Health of Brazil
Carolina Siu – UNICEF Brazil
Contributors:
Paulo Kalume – Ministry of Health of Brazil
Oscar Castilho – UNICEF New York
Maria do Carmo Leal – FFIOCRUZ / Ministry of Health of Brazil