Intrauterine growth restriction in a cohort of migrants in Germany

Background: Migrant women may have an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. This study analyses the occurrence of low birth weight, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in pregnant migrants. Method: Cross-sectional study of 82 mother-child pairs of pregnant migrants attending medical care in Germany.Results: Median age was 27 years, 49% were of oriental-asian ethnicity and median year of migration was 2015. At least one previous pregnancy was reported in 76%. Delivery mode was caesarian section in 40%. Median gestational age was 39.7 weeks. Preterm birth occurred in 6.1%. Median gestational age for preterm birth was 32.3 weeks. Low birth weight (<2500 g) occurred in 6.1%. Birth weights below the 10th percentile of birth weight for gestational age were observed in 8.5% of the total cohort. Conclusions: Compared to German data no increased occurrence of low birth weight, preterm birth or IUGR was found. Of note, rate of caesarian section was higher than in the general population for reasons yet to be identified. The authors propose stratification according to migration status for the national documentation of birth outcomes in Germany.Trial registration: ClinicalTrails.gov, NCT03158298. Registered 18 May 2017 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158298