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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted public and private health systems around the world, impairing good practices in women's health care. However, little is known about the experiences, knowledge, and feelings of Brazilian women in this period. The objective was to analyze the experiences of women, seen at maternity hospitals accredited by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, acronym in Portuguese), regarding health care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum periods, their interpersonal relationships, and perceptions and feelings about the pandemic. This was a qualitative, exploratory research, carried out in three Brazilian municipalities with women hospitalized in 2020, during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum period, with COVID-19 or not. For data collection, semi-structured individual interviews (in person, by telephone, or by digital platform) were conducted, recorded and transcribed. The content analysis of thematic modalities was displayed as per the following axes: i) Knowledge about the disease; ii) Search for health care in prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum periods; iii) Experience of suffering from COVID-19; iv) Income and work; and v) Family dynamics and social support network. A total of 46 women were interviewed in São Luís-MA, Pelotas-RS, and Niterói-RJ. Use of media was important to convey information and fight fake news. The pandemic negatively impacted access to health care in the prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum periods, contributing to worsening of the population's social and economic vulnerabilities. Women experienced diverse manifestations of the disease, and psychic disorders were very frequent. Social isolation during the pandemic disrupted the support network of these women, who found social support strategies in communication technologies. Women-centered care-including qualified listening and mental health support-can reduce the severity of COVID-19 cases in pregnant, parturient, and postpartum women. Sustainable employment and income maintenance policies are essential to mitigate social vulnerabilities and reduce risks for these women.

ObjectiveTo analyze the experiences of maternal health workers in three Brazilian cities, located in the Northeast (São Luís), Southeast (Niterói), and South (Pelotas) regions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsQualitative research carried out between December 2020 and February 2021. Interviews were conducted, in person or remotely, with 30 health workers, doctors and nurses, working in maternity hospitals of different degrees of complexity.ResultsSociodemographic characteristics, employment relationships and professional qualification of the interviewees were described. Two thematic axes were identified: 1) changes in hospital organization and dynamics in the pandemic; 2) Illness and suffering of health workers. The majority of respondents were women. Most physicians had work relationships in the public and private sectors. In Niterói, health workers had better professional qualifications and more precarious work relationships (as temporary hires), compared to São Luís and Pelotas. In the context of the uncertainties resulting from the pandemic, this situation generated even more insecurity for those workers. The statements at the beginning of the pandemic covered topics such as changes in the organizational dynamics of services, healthcare, telemedicine, and interaction between health workers and users. In the health workers' perception, the initial period of the health emergency, which resulted in intense changes in the provision of services, was marked by an increase in preterm births, perinatal mortality, and fetal losses. Work overload, fear of contamination, concern for family members and uncertainties regarding the new disease caused intense suffering in health workers who had little institutional support in the cities studied. The suffering experienced by health workers went beyond the work dimension, reaching their private life.ConclusionChanges caused by the pandemic required immediate adjustments in professional practices, generating insecurities in healthcare regardless of the location studied. The method of hiring health workers remained the same as the previously practiced one in each city. Due to the risk of disease transmission, measures contrary to humanization practices, and more restrictive in São Luís, were reported as harmful to obstetric care. The Covid-19 pandemic was a huge challenge for the Brazilian health system, aggravating the working conditions experienced by health workers. In addition to the work environment, it was possible to briefly glimpse its effects on private life.

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with non-vaccination against influenza in the risk group. Methods A cross-sectional, population-based study, carried out in the city of Rio Grande (RS). The outcome was defined as belonging to risk groups and not having been vaccinated in the last 12 months. Demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral variables, and access for health services were analyzed. Results In this study, 680 individuals participated. The prevalence was 46.0% (95%CI: 41.8-50.3), ranging from 27.9% (elderly) to 81.8% (pregnant women). Young adults, single, intermediate socioeconomic bracket, smoker, with depressive symptoms, who did not perform physical activity and did not consult a physician in the last year, had a higher prevalence of non-vaccination. Conclusion Half of the sample was not vaccinated in the period. Due to the similarity of influenza-like illness and the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19), increasing vaccination would minimize mortality and use of hospital beds due to influenza, optimizing the response of hospital capacity.

O baixo peso ao nascer está relacionado com morbimortalidade e sequelas no desenvolvimento infantil, impactando nos custos dos sistemas de saúde, por isso é importante avaliar fatores que o influenciam, estimando seu impacto no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Este é um estudo prospectivo aninhado a uma coorte de gestantes que realizaram pré-natal e parto exclusivamente pelo SUS nos hospitais com UTI da cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Entre os resultados, concluiu-se que mães com episódios de depressão gestacional apresentam quase quatro vezes mais chances de ter um filho com baixo peso ao nascer (RP = 3,94; IC: 1,49-10,36). Valendo-se do cálculo da fração atribuível na população, estima-se que, na população geral, 36,17% dos bebês com baixo peso ao nascer são filhos de mães que tiveram episódio depressivo, estimando-se um custo que pode chegar a mais de R$ 76 milhões no Brasil. Sugere-se que se ampliem as ações preventivas e curativas para as gestantes na área da saúde mental, possibilitando melhor desfecho de saúde dos recém-nascidos, e que se utilizem adequadamente os recursos do SUS.Low birth weight is related to morbidity and mortality and sequelae during infant development, thereby impacting health system costs. It is thus important to evaluate factors that influence low birth weight and to estimate their impact on the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS). This was a nested prospective study in a cohort of pregnant women who received prenatal care and gave birth in the National Health System in hospitals with ICUs in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Gestational depression was associated with a fourfold risk of low birth weight (PR = 3.94; CI: 1.49-10.36). Based on the population-attributable fraction, in the overall population an estimated 36.17% of low birth weight infants are born to mothers with an episode of depression during pregnancy, with an estimated cost of more than R$76 million (U$38 million) in Brazil. The study recommends the expansion of preventive and therapeutic mental health care measures for pregnant women and the adequate use of resources in the Unified National Health System to improve neonatal outcomes.