From January 1973 to December 1976, 1,796 patients of Algerian origin underwent labour at Belle-de-Mai Maternity Hospital, representing 28.7 per cent of all labours. A study of this group showed the following factors: they had undergone multiple pregnancies (6.2 on average) were small in size, and with a higher body weight than most metropolitan women. The pregnancy was characterized by a frequency of sympathetic signs and renal disease during pregnancy. Labour was rarely premature (5.7 per cent); breech presentations were more numerous. Labour usually occurred by the vaginal route and was spontaneous (88.8 per cent). The child had an average birth weight of 3,350 g and malformations were of a frequency similar to those in other racial groups.

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vaginal delivery congenital malformation premature labor pregnancy congenital disorder immigration labor North Africa