ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE to evaluate whether advanced maternal age (AMA) is associated with prelabor cesarean section and to identify the factors associated with prelabor cesarean section in AMA women, according to the mode of type of labor financing (private or public). METHODS Based on the Birth in Brazil survey, the research was conducted on representative sample of mothers for the country (Brazil), regions, type of hospital and location (capital or not), in 2011/2012. This study included 15,071 women from two age […]

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Evaluate the interaction between maternal age and education level in neonatal mortality, as well as investigate the temporal evolution of neonatal mortality in each stratum formed by the combination of these two risk factors. METHODS A nonconcurrent cohort study, resulting from a probabilistic relationship between the Mortality Information System and the Live Birth Information System. To investigate the risk of neonatal death we performed a logistic regression, with an odds ratio estimate for the combined variable of maternal […]

OBJECTIVE: To identify the role of pregnancy during adolescence as a risk factor to low birth weight (LBW). METHODS: A stratified sample of live births from the Information System of Live Births in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, in the period 1996-98, was selected. The risk factors of LBW were analyzed for the two strata composed by the mother age, 15-19 and 20-24 years old. For the statistical analysis, odds ratios and correspondent confidence intervals were estimated. Logistic regression […]

OBJECTIVE: Low birth weight children are unusual among well-off families. However, in Brazil, low birth weight rate was higher in a more developed city than in a less developed one. The study objective was to find out the reasons to explain this paradox. METHODS: A study was carried out in two municipalities, Ribeirão Preto (Southeastern Brazil) and São Luís (Northeastern Brazil), which low birth weight rates were 10.7% and 7.6% respectively. Data from two birth cohorts were analyzed: 2,839 newborns […]

The relationship between maternal height and birth weight was studied using a multiple regression approach with a “stepwise” solution. In the final stage of that procedure no correlation was found between maternal height and birth weight given the regression on gestational age, maternal weight, sex and birth order of the fetus.

The influence of birth weight, maternal age, prenatal care and smoking during pregnancy are analysed. Of 12,999 births (live and stillbirths) ocurring in nine maternity hospitals during one year, the greatest perinatal mortality rate (PM) was that of low birth weight babies (665.3 ‰ for those weighing less than 1,500 g). The PM decreases with increasing weight. Young mothers (less than 15 years of age) and women aged 35 or more also had higher Perinatal Mortality rates – 45.5 ‰ […]

An investigation, as part of a national study on anthropometric characteristics of livebirths, was carried out on 20,850 single livebirths born in 31 maternity hospitals in S. Paulo, Brazil, into risk factors for low birth weight (weight less than 2,501 gr.). The following factors were studied: maternal schooling, marital status, maternal age, parity, prepregnancy weight, smoking during pregnancy and prenatal care. Through multivariate analyses using log linear models, four significative risk factors for low birth weight were identified: “no prenatal […]

Congenital anomalies in live births in nine maternities in the period 1981-1982 were studied. This was one aspect of a research project carried out in seven maternities in the State of S.Paulo, one in Rio de Janeiro and another in Florianópolis (Brazil), from which data on all births occurring between August 1981 and July 1982 were obtained. Congenital anomalies were classified according to the XIVth chapter of the CID-1975 – 9thRevision. Chi square for associations and for trend and Berkson’s […]

An epidemiological survey was carried out in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, from June 1978 to May 1979. Interviews were held with mother of singleton live borne children, delivered in hospitals, which accounted for 98% of all births in the area. The higher percentages of low birthweight children related to the offspring of smokers, young mother and women belonging to the working class. The majority of young women were found in the working class and the prevalence of smoking was higher in […]