OBSTETRIC AND BIRTH-WEIGHT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIETNAM-BORN AND AUSTRALIAN-BORN WOMEN

Objectives: To measure the frequency of obstetrical complications and assess the outcome of pregnancies in Vietnam-born mothers; to compute birthweight percentile charts for their infants; and to compare these parameters in Vietnam-born women with those of a control group of Australian-born women. Design: A retrospective study of all pregnancies in Vietnam-born and Australian-born mothers managed in the Mercy Hospital for Women over a 10-year period, 1979-1988 inclusive. Setting: The Mercy Hospital for Women provides primary and secondary obstetric care to public and private patients. Patients: All women born in Australia or Vietnam who delivered in the Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne, over the 10-year period and their infants. Twins, stillborn babies and infants with congenital malformations were not included in the calculation of birthweight percentiles. Results: Gestational diabetes (7.3% v. 4.3%, P < 0.0001) and low oestriol excretion (14.4% v. 10.8%, P < 0.0001) were more common whereas essential hypertension (0.3% v. 1.2%, P < 0.001) and pre eclampsia (3.7% v. 8.6%, P < 0.0001) were less common among Vietnam-born mothers. Intervention for labour and delivery was less common among Vietnam-born mothers: induction of labour (7.1% v. 24.7%, P < 0.0001) and forceps delivery (17.8% v. 21.9%, P < 0.001); caesarean section rates were similar. Infants of Vietnam-born mothers were significantly lighter than those of Australian-born; percentile charts for birthweight and gestational age are presented. Conclusions: Pregnancies among Vietnam-born women migrants in Australia were associated with few complications in spite of a higher incidence of gestational diabetes and a low oestriol excretion. The infants were lighter than those born to Australian-born mothers. Our percentile charts for birthweight relative to gestational age will provide a more accurate assessment of intrauterine growth for these infants.