Obstetric profiles and pregnancy outcomes of immigrant women with refugee status

Abstract

This paper describes the obstetric profiles and pregnancy outcome of immigrant women with refugee status. A retrospective analysis of two hundred and seventy one immigrant women with confirmed refugee status who delivered in our hospital between June 1999 and May 2000 was performed. The average gestational age at booking was 33 weeks. The majority (63%) were multiparous, had low rates of epidural analgesia, instrumental delivery and episiotomies. There were no differences in the gestational age at delivery, incidence of caesarean section and birth weights from the hospital population. In this small study group there were four perinatal deaths giving a corrected perinatal mortality of 14.8 compared to 5.6 in the hospital population. Seven patients (3%) tested positive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Two patients (0.8%) were diagnosed with active tuberculosis. The majority of patients (80%) were living in emergency accommodation. In conclusion, this population has specific obstetric, medical and social problems.