SUMMARY OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the behavior of maternal mortality according to the race/color variable in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2010 and 2019.

METHODS:

This is a cross-sectional study that used microdata collected in the Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade and Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos. Data were disaggregated by race/color and age groups of childbearing age. Pearson's χ2 test was used to compare the ratio in each category of covariates. In order to explore the differences in the maternal mortality ratio of the respective variables, the data were adjusted using Poisson's model. Polynomial regression models were tested to describe the trend.

RESULTS:

There were 732 maternal deaths in the city of Rio de Janeiro between 2010 and 2019. The time trend analysis of general maternal mortality showed a significant decline between 2010 and 2018 followed by a new upward trend in 2019. There was a greater maternal mortality ratio for older age groups, especially for women over 40 (prevalence ratio of 18.80, 95%CI 13.54-26.78; p<0.0001) and black ones (prevalence ratio of 2.31, 95%CI 1.90-2.80; p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION:

There is evidence that maternal mortality is associated with issues of race, which suggests the racial disparity in obstetric care in the city of Rio de Janeiro.