At a district hospital serving the North-West London Borough of Harrow there were 16 187 births with 208 perinatal deaths in the 5 years 1977-81. Twenty-two per cent of the births and 24 per cent of the perinatal deaths were to Indians. Sixty-one per cent of the Indian births and 61 per cent of the Indian perinatal deaths were to those born in East Africa. Mean birth weight for Indians was 343g less than for Europeans. Thirteen per cent of Indian and 5 per cent of European births were <2500g. This larger proportion of low birth weight babies but a similar proportion of perinatal deaths means that the Indian baby with a birth weight <2500g when compared to the European has a better chance of surviving (P<0•03). In the causes of perinatal death, there was no significant difference between the two ethnic groups. The lower birth weight of Indian infants may be a physiological difference between ethnic groups, and for Indians a birth weight >2200g rather than >2500g may be more appropriate to indicate an increased risk of perinatal death. The higher Indian perinatal mortality found elsewhere in Britain may reflect other differences from the indigenous population, particularly the quality of the present and past maternal environment. © 1983 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.

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