The possible meanings of care: self-care and care-for-the-other.

OBJECTIVES: To understand and to reflect about care based on the experiences of managers, professionals and users of maternal and child health services. METHODS: We developed an evaluative research with a qualitative approach in a Northeastern state of Brazil with extensive experience in the regionalization and implementation process of integrated health networks. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 68 subjects and direct observation of the maternal and child health services. We adopted the theoretical reference framework of Gadamer's hermeneutics to analyze the narratives. RESULTS: Some units of meaning were present, such as: perception and knowledge about oneself; exercise of autonomy; weaknesses in the provision of resources for the materialization of self-care; and difficulties in accessing health services and care practices. We perceive that care is dynamic, comprises various subjective aspects with respect to the singularities of the subjects and is related to the possibility of generating both individual and collective transformation. CONCLUSIONS: Care is built based on a movement among the subjects and between them and the social and health services. Thus, when we intend to take care, we need to consider this instead of focusing care solely on the technical support of health professionals.

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Treatment with Dopamine Agonist and Subsequent Pregnancy with a Satisfactory Outcome.

Pathophysiological mechanisms of peripartum cardiomyopathy are not yet completely defined, although there is a strong association with various factors that are already known, including pre-eclampsia. Peripartum cardiomyopathy treatment follows the same recommendations as heart failure with systolic dysfunction. Clinical and experimental studies suggest that products of prolactin degradation can induce this cardiomyopathy. The pharmacological suppression of prolactin production by D2 dopamine receptor agonists bromocriptine and cabergoline has demonstrated satisfactory results in the therapeutic response to the treatment. Here we present a case of an adolescent patient in her first gestation with peripartum cardiomyopathy that evolved to the normalized left ventricular function after cabergoline administration, which was used as an adjuvant in cardiac dysfunction treatment. Subsequently, despite a short interval between pregnancies, the patient exhibited satisfactory progress throughout the entire gestation or puerperium in a new pregnancy without any cardiac alterations. Dopamine agonists that are orally used and are affordable in most tertiary centers, particularly in developing countries, should be considered when treating peripartum cardiomyopathy cases.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes after bariatric surgery: a case control study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of maternal and perinatal pregnancies of obese women after bariatric surgery. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out on 63 women who had undergone bariatric surgery and 73 obese women (control). Demographic data, the characteristics of the bariatric surgery, and the maternal and perinatal results were evaluated. The Student's t-test and chi-square test (χ2) were used to compare the groups. The gestational complications of the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus, anemia, and preeclampsia were analyzed using simple and multivariate logistical regression and odd ratios (OD) with their respective confidence intervals (CI) of 95%. RESULTS: The average body mass index (BMI) at the 1st prenatal appointment of the control group was 34.6±3.3 kg/m2 and that of the post-surgical group was 26.5±4.2 kg/m2. The Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass was used in 100% of cases; no complications were observed during or after the surgeries. The average weight loss in patients with a prior bariatric surgery was statistically significant (P=0.000). The average weight at birth of the control group was significantly higher than in the post-bariatric surgery group (P=0.017). The women who had a prior bariatric surgery had a higher chance of anemia (OR=3.5; CI 95%: 1.5-8.3) and a reduced chance of macrosomia (OR=0.2; CI 95%:0.1-0.5), and prematurity (OR=0.3; CI 95%:0.1-0.7). CONCLUSION: Those women who had been submitted to bariatric surgery presented better maternal and perinatal results when compared to obese women.

Differences in neonatal outcome in fetuses with absent versus reverse end-diastolic flow in umbilical artery Doppler.

OBJECTIVES: It was the aim of this study to evaluate differences in the prognosis of fetuses with absent (AED) and reverse end-diastolic (RED) flow in the umbilical artery based on neonatal outcomes. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study based on the records of 143 patients attending at Assis Chateaubriand Teaching Maternity between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2005. Patients were classified according to diagnosis as having either fetal centralization (FC), AED or RED. Obstetrical findings and perinatal outcomes were compared for the 3 groups and between AED and RED by Fisher's exact test. Perinatal outcomes were analyzed quantitatively with logistic or multinomial regression. Odds ratios were calculated for significant risk factors. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in gestational age at diagnosis, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min, Capurro score, use of surfactant and mechanical ventilation, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, perinatal and neonatal death. When comparing RED with AED, the odds of neonatal intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, use of surfactant, neonatal mortality and perinatal mortality were 3.2, 1.4, 1.0, 5.1 and 5.3 times higher for RED. Only perinatal mortality kept statistically significant with odds of 5.2 (p = 0.043) when adjusted by gestational age (multivariate analysis). CONCLUSION: The incidence of perinatal mortality was observed to increase with the severity of Doppler findings, with significant differences between the AED and RED groups.