Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Volume 43, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 46-49
Incidence of fetal macrosomia and birth complications in Chinese immigrant women (Article)
Westerway S.C.* ,
Keogh J. ,
Heard R. ,
Morris J.
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a
Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonard's, NSW 2065, Australia
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b
Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology, Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital, Hornsby, NSW, Australia
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c
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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d
Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonard's, NSW 2065, Australia
Abstract
Objective: To compare rates of fetal macrosomia (birthweight >4000 g) and birth complications in both Chinese women immigrants and Caucasian women for two time periods: 1992 and 1999-2000. Population: Chinese women immigrants and Caucasian women attending the Royal North Shore Hospital and Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital in Sydney's northern health region. Methods: Data used were extracted from the Northern Suburbs Area Health Service OBSTET database. Significance of trends were assessed using χ2 test. Results: The results show a rise in macrosomic babies born to Chinese immigrants from 4% of total Chinese births in 1992 to 9.8% in 1999-2000 (P = 0.02).There was no significant difference in the rate of macrosomia among Caucasian women with respective rates of 11 and 14% for the same periods. The incidence of post-partum haemorrhage increased significantly in both Chinese immigrants and Caucasian women (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Australia has a multicultural population and yet the normal ranges defined for many obstetric investigations do not adjust for ethnicity. The application of values derived from a Caucasian population to other ethnic populations may be inappropriate and conceal important pathologies.
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0037957334&doi=10.1046%2fj.0004-8666.2003.00013.x&partnerID=40&md5=b9feddb80d487712a8ab4e7c2094d699
DOI: 10.1046/j.0004-8666.2003.00013.x
ISSN: 00048666
Cited by: 16
Original Language: English