| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: The aim of the study was to compare the pregnancy outcome of women originating from non-Western countries with ethnic Norwegian women, all selected from a lowrisk group.
Material and methods: A population-based observational study with a retrospective cohort design. Conducted at Stavanger University Hospital, Norway, with approximately 4800 deliveries annually, from 2009 to 2015. Births to women with a non-Western origin (n=1413), born in Africa (n=224), Asia (n=439), Eastern Europe (n=499), Middle East (n=138), South America (n=85), Western (n=979), and ethnic Norwegian women (n=7028) in a low risk group were studied. The relative risk of emergency cesarean section or postpartum hemorrhage by country of origin was estimated by odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals using logistic multiple regression.
Results: In total, the pregnancy outcomes of 9392 women were analyzed. Risk of emergency cesarean section was significantly higher for women originating from Asia (aOR: 1.887), followed by Africans (aOR: 1.705). Lowest risk was found in women originating from South America (aOR: 0.480). Risk of postpartum hemorrhage was significantly higher in women originating from Asia (aOR: 1.744) compared to Norwegians.
Conclusion: Even in a low-risk population, women originating from Asia and Africa had an elevated risk of adverse pregnancy outcome compared to the Norwegian group. The elevated risk should be considered by obstetric care providers, and we suggest that women originating from Asia and Africa would benefit from a targeted care during pregnancy and childbirth. | en_US |
