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Rocinha Maternity Hospital completes one year with 219 babies born
Published on 20/04/2025 - 16:37 | Updated
About 90% of the women live in the Rocinha community. Photo: Edu Kapps/SMS A year ago, the women of Rocinha gained the first maternity hospital in the region, entirely dedicated to maternal and child care and women's health. The Rocinha Maternity Hospital, run by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, has already performed 219 births since its inauguration on April 20, 2024. Approximately 90% of the women are residents of the community referred by one of the four Primary Care units that serve the area. With teams of obstetricians, obstetric nurses, pediatricians, social workers and nutritionists, the maternity hospital is now consolidated as a reference in the care and promotion of women's health for the community.
– The Rocinha Maternity Hospital is of great importance, especially when analyzed in light of the region’s epidemiological indicators. This maternity hospital was created to guarantee safe childbirth, access to care, reduce health inequalities and promote the health of women and their children. Pregnant women from Rocinha were already referred to the maternity hospital at Miguel Couto Hospital, but the creation of this new unit, at the foot of the community, has a great impact on health indicators in Rocinha and also on the lives of these women -, said the municipal Secretary of Health, Daniel Soranz.
With a humanized, safe and accessible space for pregnant women in the community, the maternity hospital has transformed the reality of women in the region by offering an easily accessible maternal care service closer to home. During its first year, the maternity hospital performed an average of 20 births per month, offering not only adequate medical facilities but also care, information and emotional support for future mothers. In addition to births, the unit also performs tubal ligation procedures, an important method for family planning and one of the main strategies for reducing maternal mortality. Over 600 procedures were performed in one year.
– The Rocinha Maternity Hospital was created with a focus on humanizing care. Every day we work on empathy, attention and care with all the professionals on the team, from the concierge and receptionist to the technical team. In our unit, care is centered on the woman and her needs. The woman is the protagonist of her birth – said the maternity hospital director, Amanda Barreiros.
Luene Almeida, 34, is already a mother of two children, one 13 and one 11, and at 10:30 a.m. on April 5, she gave birth to her third son, Nathan. Accompanied by prenatal care at the Maria do Socorro Family Clinic, the new mother from Rocinha sees motherhood so close to home as a privilege for the residents of the community.
– For me, it is a privilege to have a maternity ward that provides me with everything. The unit is wonderful, from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave, the dedication is incredible. The staff is great, the nurses are very patient. It is a very delicate moment, when you can't think of anything else, and they are always there to welcome us. Before, everything was more difficult, especially for us in the community. Now, being close by, it is a wonderful opportunity to help mothers at the most important moment of their lives -, said Nathan's mother.
The maternity ward is equipped with a surgical center, post-anesthesia recovery room, pre-labor, delivery and postpartum (PPP) room, clinical observation room and shared accommodation with three beds for postpartum women and newborns. The structure was designed based on technical studies on the region's healthcare and demographic characteristics, such as age group, live birth rate and supply and demand of local health services.
The Cegonha Carioca Program also has its own space in the maternity ward, with a visiting room where future mothers can receive important information about the time of birth and get to know the unit where they will give birth. Visits to the maternity ward are one of the services provided by the program, which also provides guidance to pregnant women and distributes the Cegonha Carioca layette. Present in all municipal maternity wards, Cegonha Carioca also offers incentives for prenatal care and ambulance transportation to the maternity ward, accompanied by obstetric nurses.
