Risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan: results from the Women ASPIRE cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Syrian refugee women face health care disparities and experience worse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage. We investigated risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan to identify targets for interventions. Methods: We analyzed data from Women ASPIRE, a cross-sectional study of gendered physical and mental health concerns of 507 Syrian refugee women (≥ 18 years old) living in non-camp settings in Jordan. We recruited women using systematic clinic-based sampling from four clinics. We limited our analyses to women who had a history of pregnancy and whose most recent pregnancy was single, took place in Jordan, and ended in term live birth or miscarriage (N = 307). We grouped the women by the primary outcome (term live birth or miscarriage) and compared the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups. We used Pearson’s χ2 test or the Mann–Whitney U test to obtain unadjusted estimates and multivariable binomial logistic regression to obtain adjusted estimates. Results: The most recent pregnancies of 262 women (85%) ended in term live birth and another 45 (15%) ended in miscarriage. Since crossing into Jordan, 11 women (4%) had not received reproductive health services. Of 35 women who were ≥ 35 years old, not pregnant, and did not want a (or another) child, nine (26%) did not use contraception. Of nine women who were ≥ 35 years old and pregnant, seven (78%) did not plan the pregnancy. The adjusted odds of miscarriage were higher in women who had been diagnosed with thyroid disease (aOR, 5.54; 95% CI, 1.56–19.07), had been of advanced maternal age (aOR, 5.83; 95% CI, 2.02–16.91), and had not received prenatal care (aOR, 36.33; 95% CI, 12.04–129.71). Each additional previous miscarriage predicted an increase in the adjusted odds of miscarriage by a factor of 1.94 (1.22–3.09). Conclusions: We identified several risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan. The risk factors may be amenable to preconception and prenatal care.