Why Brazil leads world rankings in Covid-19 deaths among pregnant women

Over 591,000 people around the world have lost their lives from Covid-19, but out of all the pregnant women that have passed away from the coronavirus, a massive 77 percent have taken place in Brazil. A study by the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics showed that at least 125 pregnant women died from Covid-19 in Brazil between February 26 — when the first case was recorded in the country — and June 18. 

The study was carried out by researchers in the U.S., France, UK, and Iran along with a team from leading Brazilian institutions such as Unesp, UFSCar, Imip, UFSC, and Fiocruz, using data from the Health Ministry. 

This number represents the overwhelming majority of recorded maternal deaths from the coronavirus worldwide, exceeding the total deaths of pregnant women even in the U.S., the only country to have registered more cases and deaths from the disease than Brazil. Covid-19, according to these numbers, is responsible for 7.3 percent of the total of maternal deaths in Brazil this year. This amounts to a lethality rate of 12.7 percent–– by far the highest in the world. The study, however, indicates that pregnant women are not a particular risk group for Covid-19.

According to the research, the disproportionate number of deaths in Brazil is likely related to the difficulty of accessing Intensive Care Units and other life-saving equipment such as ventilators, along with the higher proportion of Brazilian women suffering from comorbidities in relation to other countries.

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