Are all immigrant mothers really at risk of low birth weight and perinatal mortality? The crucial role of socio-economic status

J Racape,C Schoenborn,M De Spiegelaere,M Sow

doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckw173.034

Abstract

Are all immigrant mothers really at risk of low birth weight and perinatal mortality? The crucial role of socio-economic status

Highlights

Increasing studies show that immigrants have different perinatal health outcomes compared to native women
We have shown in our previous research in Brussels a clear pattern of perinatal health inequalities among immigrants, and some paradoxical results [5, 12,13,14]: Despite having favourable birth outcomes in terms of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth, babies born to North African mothers had a higher risk of perinatal mortality compared to Belgians
Adjustment for maternal education significantly decreased the odds ratios (ORs) of LBW in all nationality groups, and, for subSaharan African and EU27 naturalized women, the risks became comparable to Belgians

Summary

Introduction

Increasing studies show that immigrants have different perinatal health outcomes compared to native women. The divergence in results could be explained by the fact that studies differed in maternal country of origin, receiving country, and the specific outcomes (LBW, preterm birth or perinatal mortality). These mixed results depend on the study design, on the adjustment variables and on the way that socioeconomic factors were integrated in the studies. A large amount of research in the US Latino population has uncovered the ‘epidemiological’ or ‘immigrant paradox’, whereby immigrant women are shown to benefit from better pregnancy outcomes than native women despite their lower socioeconomic status [6,7,8]. Socioeconomic information has generally been limited to maternal educational level [11]

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Conclusion