Epidemiological study of births in beneficiaries of a small health insurance service provider

Abstract

Introduction: Caesarean section is a surgical procedure originally developed to save the life of the mother and/or child, when complications occur during pregnancy or childbirth. Ceará, in the period from 2005 to 2012, has presented one of the highest rates of cesarean deliveries in Brazil, from 28.3% in 2005 to 49.1% in 2012. Objective: This paper aims to describe the profile of deliveries by a small health insurance provider in Ceará, in the year 2011-2012. We conducted cross-sectional survey to collect the main variables related to the events of birth. Methods: description by obtaining measures of central tendency of variables and intra-group. The bivariate comparisons were performed using the chi-square and ANOVA/Mann-Whitney test. Was considered significant results with p value less than 0.05. Results: Of the 67 deliveries, the mean age was 28.1 years. We also note that 94% of births in the period in question were cesareans operator. The mean gestational age was between 36-39 weeks of gestation in the four providers, and all results were statistically significant. 97% of providers did not need NICU. One of the main findings in this study was that one of the accredited providers performs the procedures for delivery with lower mean gestational age than their peers and uses more special nursery. Conclusion: We conclude that the procedures performed with lower gestational age may lead to higher costs for the operator.