COVID-19 and Maternal Death in Brazil: An Invisible Tragedy - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2020;42(8):445-447
The infection with the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is responsible for causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), became a devastating threat to the health of the world population and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Beginning in China at the end of 2019, it quickly spread to several countries, and the first case was officially diagnosed in Brazil on February 26, 2020. Since then, despite initial measures to slow the virus’ spread, we are alarmed by the exponential growth in the number of cases. At the time of writing this text, Brazil exceeds 800,000 cases and 40,000 deaths, second only to the United States in those numbers. However, the well-known underreporting of cases and deaths in the country, associated with the incomprehensible decision to suspend access to the Epidemiological Surveillance Information System – Influenza (SIVEP-Gripe, in the Portuguese acronym) database for recalculating the number of deaths makes it difficult to keep these numbers up to date.
The real impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium period, and if the pregnancy-puerperal state changes the natural history of COVID-19 are controversial issues that remain to be elucidated. Initial studies in the obstetric population were not suggestive of a greater susceptibility of pregnant women to COVID-19 complications. However, subsequent publications reported cases of pregnant women with severe disease and maternal deaths from COVID-19. A Swedish study showed a higher risk of pregnant women needing admission to the intensive care unit compared with non-pregnant women. To date, reports of maternal death have been published in Iran and Mexico (seven cases each), in the United Kingdom (five deaths) and in the United States (one case).
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The infection with the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is responsible for causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), became a devastating threat to the health of the world population and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Beginning in China at the end of 2019, it quickly spread to several countries, and the first case was officially diagnosed in Brazil on February 26, 2020. Since then, despite initial measures to slow the virus' spread, we are alarmed by the exponential growth in the number of cases. At the time of writing this text, Brazil exceeds 800,000 cases and 40,000 deaths, second only to the United States in those numbers. However, the well-known underreporting of cases and deaths in the country, associated with the incomprehensible decision to suspend access to the Epidemiological Surveillance Information System - Influenza (SIVEP-Gripe, in the Portuguese acronym) database for recalculating the number of deaths makes it difficult to keep these numbers up to date.
The real impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium period, and if the pregnancy-puerperal state changes the natural history of COVID-19 are controversial issues that remain to be elucidated. Initial studies in the obstetric population were not suggestive of a greater susceptibility of pregnant women to COVID-19 complications. However, subsequent publications reported cases of pregnant women with severe disease and maternal deaths from COVID-19. A Swedish study showed a higher risk of pregnant women needing admission to the intensive care unit compared with non-pregnant women. To date, reports of maternal death have been published in Iran and Mexico (seven cases each), in the United Kingdom (five deaths) and in the United States (one case).
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