We report the early growth and neurologic findings of 48 infants in Brazil diagnosed with probable congenital Zika virus syndrome and followed to age 1–8 months. Most of these infants had microcephaly (86.7%) and craniofacial disproportion (95.8%). The clinical pattern included poor head growth with increasingly negative z-scores, pyramidal/extrapyramidal symptoms, and epilepsy.

OBJETIVO: Identificar as principais características socioeconômicas, demográficas, antropométricas e comportamentais, bem como os resultados perinatais da gravidez na adolescência. Conhecer os tipos de serviços de saúde utilizados pelas gestantes adolescentes. MÉTODOS: A amostra de 2.429 partos de mulheres residentes em São Luís, MA, abrangeu 94% dos nascimentos hospitalares. As mulheres foram separadas em seis grupos de idade para melhor avaliação do comportamento das variáveis entre os dois grupos de adolescentes (abaixo de 18 anos; 18 a 19 anos) e entre as adolescentes e as demais mulheres. O teste do qui-quadrado foi utilizado para a comparação de proporções e a razão de prevalências foi empregada como medida de efeito. RESULTADOS: Das 2.429 mulheres, 714 eram adolescentes (29,4%). Seu coeficiente específico de fecundidade, 72,2 por mil, foi mais elevado que em outras regiões do País. As adolescentes apresentaram piores condições socioeconômicas e reprodutivas que as demais mulheres, maior proporção de pré-natal inadequado (39,2%) e muitas não tinham companheiro (34,5%). Por outro lado, tiveram menor proporção de parto cesáreo (23,0%) e de fumantes (3.5%). CONCLUSÕES: Apesar da situação socioeconômica igualmente desfavorável, as adolescentes de 18 a 19 anos apresentaram resultados perinatais semelhantes às mulheres de 25 a 29 anos. Já as menores de 18 anos tiveram maiores proporções de filhos com baixo peso ao nascer, prematuros e com maior risco de mortalidade infantil. Isto sugere que a imaturidade biológica possa estar associada a maiores taxas de prematuridade, baixo peso ao nascer e mortalidade infantil.

The association between young maternal age and preterm birth (PTB) remains controversial. In some studies the association disappeared after controlling for socio-economic and reproductive factors, thus indicating that social disadvantage rather than biological factors may be the explanation. However, in other studies the association persisted after adjustment. The relation between young maternal age and PTB was studied in a city located in Brazil, an underdeveloped country, where the prevalence of teenage pregnancy was high, 29%. A systematic sampling of 2541 hospital births, stratified by hospital, was performed in São Luís, Northeast Brazil, from March 1997 to February 1998. The risks of PTB for infants born to two groups of young mothers (<18 and 18-19 years) were calculated with and without adjustment for confounding factors (family income, marital status, mode of delivery, parity, health insurance, and short maternal stature) in a logistic regression model, using mothers 25-29 years of age as the reference group. In the unadjusted analysis, the risk of PTB was higher for mothers < 18 years [odds ratio (OR) = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64, 3.57]. Those aged 18 or 19 years were not at a higher risk of PTB (OR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.58, 1.38). After adjustment, the risk of PTB for mothers < 18 years was lower but remained significant after controlling for confounding (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.11, 2.60). After performing a stratified analysis according to parity, the risk of PTB among very young primiparae (<18 years) remained significant (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.02, 3.08), whereas the risk among non-primiparous adolescents was not significantly higher than the risk among mothers in the reference group. This suggests that the association between young maternal age and PTB may have a biological basis or an artifactual explanation (errors in gestational age estimation may be more common among very young mothers) or may be due to residual confounding.

Caesarean section (CS) delivery is associated with low birthweight (LBW) in south-east Brazil. A hospital-based study was conducted on singleton infants from mothers residing in São Luís, to assess if an association between CS and LBW was found in the northern part of the country, where the CS rate is lower than in the south-east. A standardised questionnaire was administered to a sample of 2541 mothers in 10 hospitals, representing 94% of all deliveries, from March 1997 to February 1998. In a logistic model, type of delivery was the independent variable, the other variables were treated as confounders, and interaction terms were added between type of delivery and all other factors. LBW was associated with low maternal height, maternal smoking, primiparity, previous LBW, public insurance, preterm birth and CS. The CS rate was 33.7%. The risk of CS was higher for primiparous and married mothers, those with high level of schooling and attended by the same physician during prenatal and delivery care, deliveries held in private hospitals, daylight hours or evenings, and for those mothers who had adequate prenatal care. Because it appears unlikely that only medical reasons are operative, it is a possibility that CS could cause LBW, reflecting abusive indications for elective CS.

The prevalence of severe microcephaly was much higher than expected in both cities. Our findings suggest that microcephaly was endemic in both municipalities before the circulation of the Zika virus.

Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender como as mães interpretam e explicam a morte de seus filhos no período neonatal. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa. Foram utilizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 15 mulheres residentes no Município de São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil, cujos recém-nascidos morreram no período de julho de 2012 a julho de 2014. A coleta de dados foi realizada entre 1º de abril e 29 de agosto de 2014. As entrevistas incluíram perguntas acerca do trabalho de parto, parto, nascimento e puerpério. Foi realizada análise de conteúdo na modalidade temática. A partir da fala das entrevistadas, foram evidenciadas fragilidades na rede de assistência. Para muitas, o atendimento recebido esteve relacionado a eventos que levaram à morte dos filhos. Foram identificados como núcleos de sentido a demora no atendimento e a negligência na maternidade, que evidenciaram um contexto de violência obstétrica sofrida pelas mulheres. Fica evidente a importância de criação de estratégias para promover e assegurar o cuidado humanizado no atendimento ao parto e nascimento. Deve-se buscar o fortalecimento de políticas públicas integralizadas que contemplem as demandas de atenção à saúde da mulher e da criança.

BackgroundFew studies have been conducted on the association between perinatal and early life factors with childhood depression and results are conflicting. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and perinatal and early life factors associated with symptoms of depression in children aged 7 to 11 years from two Brazilian birth cohorts.MethodsThe study was conducted on 1444 children whose data were collected at birth and at school age, in 1994 and 2004/2005 in Ribeirao Preto, where they were aged 10–11 years and in 1997/98 and 2005/06 in São Luís, where children were aged 7–9 years. Depressive symptoms were investigated with the Child Depression Inventory(CDI), categorized as yes (score ≥ 20) and no (score < 20). Adjusted and non-adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated by Poisson regression with robust estimation of the standard errors.ResultsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms was 3.9% (95%CI = 2.5-5.4) in Ribeirão Preto and 13.7% (95%CI = 11.0-16.4) in São Luís. In the adjusted analysis, in Ribeirão Preto, low birth weight (PR = 3.98; 95%CI = 1.72-9.23), skilled and semi-skilled manual occupation (PR = 5.30; 95%CI = 1.14-24.76) and unskilled manual occupation and unemployment (PR = 6.65; 95%CI = 1.16-38.03) of the household head were risk factors for depressive symptoms. In São Luís, maternal schooling of 0–4 years (PR = 2.39; 95%CI = 1.31-4.34) and of 5 to 8 years (PR = 1.80; 95%CI = 1.08-3.01), and paternal age <20 years (PR = 1.92; 95%CI = 1.02-3.61), were independent risk factors for depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms was much higher in the less developed city, São Luís, than in the more developed city, Ribeirão Preto, and than those reported in several international studies. Low socioeconomic level was associated with depressive symptoms in both cohorts. Low paternal age was a risk factor for depressive symptoms in the less developed city, São Luís, whereas low birth weight was a risk factor for depressive symptoms in the more developed city, Ribeirão Preto.

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