{"title":"Effect of COVID-19 on Brazilian cesarean and prematurity rates: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Clarissa Suzart, José Paulo de Siqueira Guida","doi":"10.61622/rbgo/2025rbgo6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the relationship between prematurity and cesarean section rate in Brazil during the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Utilizing the Robson Classification, this study analyzed data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health's Live Births Panel, comparing CSR) and group 10 (preterm deliveries) between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2021 (pandemic) in each of Brazilian states and the overall country. The prematurity and CSR were compared using prevalence ratio and confidence interval, and p-value was obtained. The variation of prematurity and CSR were compared through the coefficient of determination (R2).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 5,522,910 deliveries were evaluated during the period. The CSR increased from 56.34% to 57.05% (p<0.01), and the frequency of preterm deliveries rose from 8.99% to 9.13% (p<0.01). The CSR increased in 23 States and decreased in 4 States, while the prematurity rate increased in 16 States and decreased in 10 States. A positive relationship between the increase of CSR and prematurity was observed during COVID-19, with an R2 value of 0.3121, suggesting a moderate association between these two variables.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Between 2019 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021 (the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic), there was an increase in prematurity and CSR in Brazil. These increases were observed in most Brazilian states and may be correlated. However, it is impossible to establish a cause-effect relationship given the design of this study.</p>","PeriodicalId":74699,"journal":{"name":"Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia","volume":"47 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12002720/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.61622/rbgo/2025rbgo6","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the relationship between prematurity and cesarean section rate in Brazil during the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Utilizing the Robson Classification, this study analyzed data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health's Live Births Panel, comparing CSR) and group 10 (preterm deliveries) between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2021 (pandemic) in each of Brazilian states and the overall country. The prematurity and CSR were compared using prevalence ratio and confidence interval, and p-value was obtained. The variation of prematurity and CSR were compared through the coefficient of determination (R2).
Results: A total of 5,522,910 deliveries were evaluated during the period. The CSR increased from 56.34% to 57.05% (p<0.01), and the frequency of preterm deliveries rose from 8.99% to 9.13% (p<0.01). The CSR increased in 23 States and decreased in 4 States, while the prematurity rate increased in 16 States and decreased in 10 States. A positive relationship between the increase of CSR and prematurity was observed during COVID-19, with an R2 value of 0.3121, suggesting a moderate association between these two variables.
Conclusion: Between 2019 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021 (the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic), there was an increase in prematurity and CSR in Brazil. These increases were observed in most Brazilian states and may be correlated. However, it is impossible to establish a cause-effect relationship given the design of this study.