Introduction: Over the past few years immigration has become an important growth issue in Spain, with the subsequent social, economic and health impact it produces. Objective: To analyze the characteristics of immigrant pregnancy and its neonatal morbidity. Method: Prospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, which includes live-born infants born in the Hospital de Sabadell, from the 1st of September until the 31th of December, 2004. All demographic data were collected, together with details of the pregnancy, the labour, the infant and its associated morbidity. Results: There were 902 births during this period, of which 159 (17.6 %) were immigrant pregnancies, with Latin Americans and Moroccans predominant. About 83.3 % of immigrant pregnancies where of mothers who have lived in Spain for less than 5 years. The average age of immigrant pregnancies was 27 years (p < 0.001), multiparous is more frequent (p < 0.001) and have a lower control of pregnancy than non-immigrant (p = 0,001). The average gestational age is similar between both groups, nevertheless, the average weight is significantly higher in immigrant women newborns (p < 0.05). About 36.5 % of the newborns are admitted with their mother o in the neonatal unit, with the main reason for admission being the risk of infection with a predominance between the newborns of immigrant pregnancies (p = 0.05). The number of newborns admitted in the neonatal unit is similar in both groups. Conclusions: This study allowed us to look at characteristics of immigrant pregnancies and draw conclusions in providing the necessary medical assistance for this new and growing population.

Immigration Newborn Pregnancy morbidity

prospective study demography immigration human diabetes mellitus hypertension cross-sectional study social status smoking newborn Apgar score pregnancy Article delivery newborn morbidity infection risk prematurity multipara parity Birth Weight gestational age