Obstetric outcomes and infant birthweights for Vietnamese-born and Australian-born women in southwestern Sydney

Abstract

The southwestern Sydney area has the highest population of Vietnamese immigrants in New South Wales. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in obstetric outcomes and birthweights of infants of Vietnamese-born women and Australian-born women in southwestern Sydney during 1991. There was a higher incidence of gestational diabetes and a lower incidence of pre-eclampsia in Vietnamese-born women. The rate of induction of labour for Australian-born women (23.7 per cent) was almost double the rate for Vietnamese-born women (12.9 per cent). Birthweights of infants of Vietnamese-born women were significantly lower at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentile. The use of racially appropriate growth charts will reduce overdiagnosis of growth-restricted infants and therefore unnecessary treatment. These findings highlight the need to take ethnic differences into account when planning health care.