Comparison of Clinical Characteristics and Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes Between Turkish Citizens and Syrian Refugees with High-Risk Pregnancies

A comprehensive evaluation of pregnancy and newborn outcomes in Syrian refugees in Turkey

BACKGROUND

The research was conducted to evaluate the birth and newborn outcomes of Syrian immigrant women according to maternal age groups and Vitamin D use.

METHODS

It was conducted retrospectively using the birth records of 2,866 Syrian migrant women, who had given birth at a tertiary center between January 2016 and May 2020. Demographic features, obstetric and neonatal outcomes were analyzed according to age groups and Vitamin D use.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients included in the study was 26.22 ± 5.90, the mean gestational age at birth was 38.06 ± 2.1 weeks, and the mean newborn birth weight was 3.151 g. The mean hemoglobin value of the patients was 11.55 ± 1.54. While most of the patients were taking iron supplements (80.59%), Vitamin D (Vit D) supplement intake was 38.31%. The mean number of antenatal follow-ups was 3.40 ± 1.65. While the most common delivery method was normal vaginal delivery (61.93%), cesarean section rates were found to be 38.07%. The need for blood transfusion was significantly lower in the group that had received Vitamin D than that in the group that had not received it (2.00% vs. 8.94% p < 0.001). The rate of preterm birth was found to be 5.74% in the group that had received Vitamin D and 9.28% in the group that had not received it, which was significantly higher (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

We have seen that maternal and fetal outcomes can be improved with hospital follow-up and adequate vitamin supplements in refugee pregnant women.

Disparities in Obstetric, Neonatal, and Birth Outcomes Among Syrian Women Refugees and Jordanian Women

Objectives: To compare obstetric and neonatal characteristics and birth outcomes between Syrian refugees and native women in Jordan. Methods: We used the Jordan Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths Surveillance System to extract sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of the mothers and birth characteristics of newborns. Multivariate analysis was used to compare the characteristics of 26,139 Jordanian women (27,468 births) and 3,453 Syrian women refugees (3,638 births) who gave birth in five referral hospitals (May 2019 and December 2020). Results: The proportions of low birthweight (14.1% vs. 11.8%, p < 0.001) and small for gestational age (12.0% vs. 10.0%, p < 0.001) newborns were significantly higher for those born to Syrian women compared to those born to Jordanian women. The stillbirth rate (15.1 vs. 9.9 per 1,000 births, p = 0.003), the neonatal death rate (21.2 vs. 13.2 per 1,000 live births, p < 0.001), and perinatal death rate (21.2 vs. 13.2 per 1,000 births, p < 0.001) were significantly higher for the Syrian births. After adjusting for sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of women, only perinatal death was statistically significantly higher among Syrian babies compared to Jordanian babies (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.7, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Syrian refugee mothers had a significantly higher risk of adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes including higher rate of perinatal death compared to Jordanian women.

Obstetric practice differences between Syrian refugees and non-Syrian nonrefugee gravidae: A retrospective cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To assess differences in obstetric practices between Syrian war refugees (SRs) and non-Syrian nonrefugees (NSRs) in a tertiary care provider in Germany.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of SRs (n = 356) and NSRs (n = 5836) giving birth between January 2015 and December 2018. Data on medical history, birth mode, complications, and neonatal parameters was extracted. Group differences were evaluated using Mann-Whitney and χ2 test. Logistic regression models were fitted to investigate the association of refugee status with mode of birth in conditions associated with increased risk of cesarean section (CS).

RESULTS

SRs had higher rates of adolescent pregnancies (1.7% versus 0.6%, P = 0.020) but fewer maternal diseases compared with NSRs (1.7% versus 3.9%, P = 0.035). The rate of CS was higher in the NSR group (43.9% versus 36%, P = 0.003), as well as the rates of premature rupture of membranes (P = 0.006) and steroid administration for lung maturation (P = 0.012). Cases of umbilical artery pH ≤7.0 were more common in SRs (0.4% versus 1.1%, P = 0.027). Women with previous CS had similar odds of CS in the current pregnancy irrespective of study group (odds ratio, 0.94 [95% confidence interval, 0.50-1.75]).

CONCLUSION

SR women had lower rates of CS but higher rates of adolescent pregnancies and neonatal pH ≤7.0 at birth compared with NSR women.

Evaluation of obstetric and neonatal outcomes and cesarean section rates of Syrian and Turkish adolescent pregnant women according to the Robson ten group classification system

Aim: Our research has two purposes. To begin with, we sought to determine whether there were any differences in maternal and newborn outcomes between Syrian adolescent and adult pregnant women living in Turkey after the Syrian civil war and Turkish adolescent and adult pregnant women. Second, we wanted to examine and compare the rates of cesarean section (CS) and spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) in adolescent and adult pregnant women using the Robson ten group classification system (RTGCS). Material and Method: Our study investigated data from a retrospective cross-sectional study of 1823 Turkish and Syrian pregnant women who gave birth between September 2020 and August 2021 in a tertiary reference hospital in Turkey's Mediterranean area. Our study enrolled 838 pregnant adolescent girls between the ages of 13 and 19 and 985 pregnant adult women between the ages of 20 and 47. Results: The probability of adolescent pregnancy is 3.081 times greater among Syrian refugees than among Turkish natives (p