Prematurity In Brazil

Prematurity has been considered a serious public health problem around the world. The reasons for the occurrence of a premature birth include maternal and fetal conditions, and their implications go beyond technical obstetric and neonatal issues, as they affect the daily lives of children, teenagers, men and women. The complications of prematurity are the leading cause of neonatal deaths and the second most frequent cause of deaths in children younger than 5 years of age. In Brazil, health policies and strategic actions in the field of maternal and child care have been implemented over the last decades with the purpose of minimizing maternal and child morbidity and mortality, especially neonatal and early neonatal. Nevertheless, despite the concern and dedication of …show more content…
The studied variables showed a significant association with prematurity (p<0.001), such as the extremes of maternal age, women with less than eight years of schooling, less than six prenatal consultations, cesarean birth and low birth weight. The regions that showed the greatest prevalence of prematurity and worse evolution over the years were the Mountain Region of Santa Catarina and the Itajaí River Mouth. Conclusion: the prevalence of prematurity in the studied Brazilian region was greater in the researched period, despite the change in the health care scenario, with respect to the amount of programs and professionals working in the maternal-neonatal area. The current health care practices in the maternal-neonatal area deserve to be carefully analyzed, especially in the macro-regions of health, focusing on the those related to the factors associated with prematurity, making effective the existing actions and (re) building others, in order to transform the current scenario, thus allowing the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to premature