Maternal deaths in Brazil from severe COVID-19 respiratory disease: time for a global commitment to ending health disparities

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Naima Joseph, Emory University; B.J. Wylie, Harvard Medical School
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-10-08
• Publisher: WILEY
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.16521
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BJOG-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY
• Volume: 127
• Issue: 13
• Start Page: 1627
• End Page: 1627
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology; Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Biology, Virology; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

In this issue, Takemoto et al. report on 124 maternal deaths among individuals with SARS‐CoV‐2 attributable acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in Brazil, leveraging an ARDS surveillance system established by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2009 in response to the H1N1 pandemic (Takemoto et al BJOG 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/1471‐0528.16470). A total of 978 pregnant or postpartum individuals with ARDS who met the criteria for coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) and whose survival status was known, were identified through this reporting mechanism between 26 February and 18 June 2020. Risk factors for maternal mortality included diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and postpartum presentation.