Magnitude and characteristics of late-term and post-term births: Analysis of maternal and neonatal complications in Brazil, 2011

Abstract

This study analyzed late-term and post-term birth, evaluating the maternal profile, its characteristics, and maternal and neonatal complications. A total of 23,610 babies were selected from the Birth in Brazil study (2011), and a descriptive analysis of the study population was performed. The association between late-term and post-term birth and their outcomes was performed using logistic regressions (p-value < 0.05). The prevalence found was 7.4% for late-term and 2.5% for post-term birth, both of which were more frequent in the North and Northeast regions, in adolescents, black women, with low schooling, multiparous, cared for by the public sector. Late term pregnancies had a higher chance of induction of vaginal delivery (OR = 2.02; 95%CI: 1.67-2.45), of cesarean section (OR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.16-1.52), of severe laceration (OR = 3.75; 95%CI: 1.36-10.36), and of oxygen therapy for newborns (OR = 1.52; 95%CI: 1.02-2.26). In post-term pregnancies, newborns had a lower chance of breastfeeding at birth (OR = 0.74; 95%CI: 0.56-0.97) and during hospitalization (OR = 0.62; 95%CI: 0.40-0.97) and a higher chance of being born small for the gestational age (OR = 4.01; 95%CI: 2.83-5.70). The results using only ultrasound as a measure of gestational age confirmed the previous findings. Late-term and post-term pregnancies occur more frequently in the North and Northeast regions and in women with greater social vulnerability, being associated with maternal and neonatal complications.