Incidence of fetal macrosomia and birth complications in Chinese immigrant women

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 chi(2) 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.