Abstract
To analyse the influence of maternal overweight/obesity on delivery outcomes among first- and second-generation immigrant women and non-immigrant women. We used perinatal data from Berlin/Germany (n=1987 first generation, n=687 second generation, n=2185 non-immigrants; gestational age: 24+weeks; maternal age: 18+years). Poisson models were fitted to estimate the effect of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (categorised according to WHO) on mode of delivery (vaginal vs. emergency caesarean section (ECS)) and labour onset (spontaneous vs. induced). First generation, second generation and non-immigrant women were more likely to have their labour induced when obese [first generation: RR=1.41 (95% CI: 1.15-1.72); second generation: RR=1.51 (95% CI: 1.14-2.00); non-immigrants: RR=1.53 (95% CI: 1.28-1.81)] compared to normal weight. There were also indications of obese women being more likely to deliver by ECS than women of normal weight, irrespective of migrant status. An elevated RR for obese and in parts for overweight women of labour induction and ECS pertains irrespective of migrant status. This warrants further research looking into pathophysiological in addition to health-system factors. Weight control interventions addressed at overweight/obese women planning pregnancies are urgently needed.
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