The Guardian reported that Brazil has recorded 803 pregnant and postpartum deaths since February 2020. Authorities are warning women to delay pregnancy. “If possible, (the women should) postpone the pregnancy a bit to a better time so that (they) can have a more peaceful pregnancy,” Secretary of Primary Health Care of the Brazilian health ministry Raphael Camara said April 16, 2021.
23-year-old, Maria Laura Prucoli, died from COVID-19 after her daughter Lavínia, was delivered by emergency C-section in Rio’s deprived outskirts.
On April 23, 2021, a 20-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant died in the midwestern state of Mato Grosso after waiting four days for an intensive care bed.
A study suggested that 77.5% of the world’s Covid-related maternal deaths had occurred in Brazil. The pandemic deepened historically high rates of maternal deaths. Some suspect new forms of coronavirus, such as the P1 variant linked to the Brazilian Amazon, may also be partly responsible although there is still no concrete evidence of this.
Last year, most victims were non-white women from poor areas with risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. This year, white women with no risk factors have been dying as well. the health ministry this week include them in the priority vaccination group. So far, however, fewer than 10% of Brazilians have received two doses meaning most pregnant women will face a long wait.