The color of pain: racial iniquities in prenatal care and childbirth in Brazil

Few studies on the influence of race/color on pregnancy and birthcare experiences have been carried out in Brazil. Additionally, none of the existing studies are of national scope. This study sought to evaluate inequities in prenatal and childbirth care according to race/color using propensity score matching. The data comes from the study Birth in Brazil: National Survey into Labor and Birth, a national population study comprised of interviews and revisions of medical records that included 23,894 women in 2011/2012. We used logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios (OR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) of race/color associated with the outcomes were analyzed. When compared with white-skinned women, black-skinned women were more likely to have inadequate prenatal care (OR = 1.6; 95%CI: 1.4-1.9), to not be linked to a maternity hospital for childbirth (OR = 1.2 95%CI: 1.1-1.4), to be without a companion (OR = 1.7; 95%CI: 1.4-2.0), to seek more than one hospital for childbirth (OR =1.3; 95%CI: 1.2-1.5), and less likely to receive local anesthesia for an episiotomy (OR = 1.5; 95%CI: 1.1-2.1). Brown-skinned women were also more likely to have inadequate prenatal care (OR = 1.2; 95%CI: 1.1-1.4) and to lack a companion (OR = 1.4; 95%CI: 1.3-1.6) when compared with white-skinned women. We identified racial disparities in care during pregnancy and childbirth, which displayed a gradient going from worst to best care provided to black, brown and white-skinned women.