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The covid-19 pandemic and its effect on maternal health indicators in Latin American countries


Obstetrics & Gynecology International Journal
Alvaro Martín Paredes Casanova,1 Fabricio Ceferino Alvarez Pérez,1 Gianella Nicho Conde,2 Keile Joyce Desposorio Robles,3 José Manuel Vela Ruiz1

Abstract

Introduction: Maternal mortality constitutes one of the most important indicators of public health, and also reflects the response capacity of health systems to the healths needs of one of the most vulnerable groups, such a pregnant women.
Objective: Conduct a bibliographic review of the maternal mortality indicators used by health management teams, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin American countries.
Methodology: A bibliographic review was carried out by searching for scientific articles related to the topic. In addition, information was collected from epidemiological bulletins updated as of the review date. The PEO question was used (Population: pregnant women. Exposure: before and during the COVID-19 pandemic Result: maternal mortality in the context before and during the pandemic): What are the maternal mortality indicators before and during the COVID-19 pandemic? The search sources were PubMed, Scielo and Google Scholar. The key words were: "Maternal mortality" "Morbidity and mortality indicators" "COVID-19". Articles published from January 1, 2021 to May 30, 2023 were selected.
Results: Of the 5670 articles found, 5654 articles were discarded because they did not meet our criteria for keyword combinations in the title or abstract. Of the 16 articles selected, 12 had research results. Of the total number of articles, there were 4 prospective articles and 8 retrospecitve articles, 4 were considered for conceptual theoretical aspects that are related to the objective of the study.
Conclusion: an increase in the maternal mortality ratio was evident in the pre-pandemic period and during the pandemic compared to the figures from previous years, this was associated with the presence of comorbidities and maternal risk factors as well as the limited supply of health services, lack of intra-and extramural organization.

Keywords

maternal mortality, morbidity and mortality indicators, COVID-19

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