Obstetric Outcomes of First- and Second-Generation Pakistani Immigrants: A Comparison Study at a Low-Risk Maternity Ward in Norway

Abstract

This population-based study compares obstetric outcomes of first- and second-generation Pakistani immigrants and ethnic Norwegians who gave birth at the low-risk maternity ward in Baerum Hospital in Norway from 2006 to 2013. We hypothesized that second-generation Pakistani immigrants are more similar to the ethnic Norwegians because of increased acculturation. Outcome measures were labor onset, epidural analgesia, labor dystocia, episiotomy, vaginal/operative delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, birth weight, transfer to a neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal jaundice. Compared to first-generation Pakistani immigrants, the second-generation reported more health issues before pregnancy, and they had a higher proportion of preterm births compared to Norwegians. Newborns of first-generation immigrants were more often transferred to a neonatal intensive care compared to Norwegian newborns. Few intergenerational differences in the obstetric outcomes were found between the two generations. A high prevalence of consanguinity in second-generation immigrants suggests the maintenance of a traditional Pakistani marriage pattern.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes in Norway

“…The search strategy yielded 106 potentially relevant articles, of which 32 articles were identified for further full-text assessment. Finally, 11 studies [ 26 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ] consisting of data from 2,314,191 pregnant women were selected for inclusion to the data analysis ( Figure 1 ). The full-text appraisal of the studies did not lead to the exclusion of any study as they all had the acceptable quality in terms of the research structure and relevance to the review aim.…”

“…The characteristics of the selected studies assessing the prevalence of GDM in Norway were presented in Table 1 . Among the studies included, 9 (81.8%) used a population-based design [ 26 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. A total of 6 (54.5%) studies used the national data of Medical Birth Registry of Norway [ 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 ] and other studies used data from local hospitals and public health clinics in Oslo, the capital city [ 26 , 29 , 35 ], Trondheim and Stavanger [ 31 ], and Nordland and Tromsø [ 36 ].…”

“…The reported range of GDM, according to the selected studies, varied widely with a range as low as 0.7% [ 37 ] to as high as 31.5% [ 26 ], mostly due to various GDM diagnostic criteria, ethnicity of participants, data sources and the population-based design of studies. In this respect, using the national criteria, the reported prevalence of GDM varied widely, ranging from 0.9% to 13.4% [ 26 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 38 ]. However, the use of the strictest criteria of IADPGS and WHO 2013 sharply increased the prevalence of GDM from 7.4% to 31.5% [ 26 , 31 , 35 ].…”

Pregnancy Outcomes of the Internally Displaced Women in Juba, South Sudan

“…Studies on immigrants and refugees often compare their pregnancy outcomes with the local population [5] [6] [12] or rarely their populations of origin [10].…”

“…The underlying cause of such poor pregnancy outcomes among cross-border refugees or migrants is not firmly established. However, some studies have attributed the poor pregnancy outcomes with women's socio-cultural and economical backgrounds as well as poor quality of services they receive [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]. The focus of this study was on internally displaced women in South Sudan.…”