Cesarean Section and Maternal Mortality Rates in A High-Risk Maternity Ward

Abstract

Carlos Roberto de Resende Miranda, Douglas Manuel Carrapeiro Prina, Joao Paulo Maximiano Favoreto, Kleber Rodrigues e Silva, Inacio Teruo Inoue

Objective: To test the hypothesis that a higher number of cesarean sections would decrease maternal mortality rates, we correlated cesarean section rates with mortality rates in a high-risk maternity environment in the Regional University Hospital of Northern Paraná (HURNP).

Methods: We reviewed the records of 22,013 women who gave birth at the HURNP between 1995 and 2015 and analyzed the variation in the rate of delivery methods and maternal mortality rates, which was defined as the number of maternal deaths per 10,000 deliveries.

Results: There was a significant increase in cesarean section rates from 33.5% in 1995 to 69% in 2015. Over these 21 years, 46 women died (20.9 per 10,000 women who gave birth). However, mortality rates increased rather than decreased during the study period.

Conclusion: Despite we cannot confirm causality, the significant increase in the cesarean section rate matched an increase rather than decreased maternal mortality rates

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