Somali women and their pregnancy outcomes postmigration: data from six receiving countries

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to investigate pregnancy outcomes in Somali-born women compared with those women born in each of the six receiving countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Norway and Sweden.Design Meta-analyses of routinely collected data on confinements and births.Setting National or regional perinatal datasets spanning 3-6 years between 1997 and 2004 from six countries.Sample A total of 10 431 Somali-born women and 2 168 891 receiving country-born women.Methods Meta-analyses to compare outcomes for Somali-born and receiving country-born women across the six countries.Main outcome measures Events of labour (induction, epidural use and proportion of women using no analgesia), mode of birth (spontaneous vaginal birth, operative vaginal birth and caesarean section) and infant outcomes (preterm birth, birthweight, Apgar at 5 minutes, stillbirths and neonatal deaths).Results Compared with receiving country-born women, Somaliborn women were less likely to give birth preterm (pooled OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-0.81) or to have infants of low birthweight (pooled OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.98), but there was an excess of caesarean sections, particularly in first births (pooled OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.25-1.59) and an excess of stillbirths (pooled OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.38-2.51).Conclusions This analysis has identified a number of disparities in outcomes between Somali-born women and their receiving country counterparts. The disparities are not readily explained and they raise concerns about the provision of maternity care for Somali women postmigration. Review of maternity care practices followed by implementation and careful evaluation of strategies to improve both care and outcomes for Somali women is needed.

Pregnancy Outcome of Migrant Women Delivering in a Public Institution in Northern Italy

“…Somali women in Sweden carried a higher risk of perinatal mortality, neonatal distress, preterm delivery, and small-for-gestational-age neonates [10]. A study investigating pregnancy outcomes in Somali women postmigration, compared with those of women born in each of the 6 receiving countries considered, found cause for concern in the excess of cesarean sections (CS) and stillbirths among the Somali-born women [11]. …”

Migrant population and perinatal health

“…This last aspect has also been a reason for concern in other recipient countries. [18][19][20] Another limitation of this study is that pregnancies not followed-up at the hospital were excluded because there were neither data registered on the medical records nor native population seen in other health care facilities that may have belonged to different social classes.…”

Salud perinatal de la población migrante

“…Esto último es también motivo de preocupación en otros países receptores. [18][19][20] Otra limitación es que no se tuvieron en cuenta los embarazos no controlados en la institución debido a carecer de datos en las historias clínicas, ni población nativa asistida en otros centros de salud que podría pertenecer a diferentes estratos sociales.…”