Background: Immigrant status is frequently assumed to constitute a health risk because migration is inevitably associated with a period of significant adjustment and stress.
Objective: To compare the social characteristics and perinatal outcomes of mothers who deliver in a third level hospital in Spain according to their socioeconomic level of the country of origin.
Methods: From December 2000 to March 2001, women who delivered were selected according to the socioeconomic status of their birth country. All women from low and middle income countries (immigrant mothers) and a sample (1:2) of those from high income countries (mainly Spanish-born mothers) completed a questionnaire on antenatal care, demographic and social characteristics, and country of birth and were followed-up to monitor neonatal clinical features.
Results: During the three months of the study, 203/1352 (15 %, CI 13.2-17.1) of the delivering mothers were immigrants. Most were from Central and South America (56 %, CI 49-62). Prenatal care was appropriate in most of the women (in 92.1 % of immigrant mothers and in 96.8 % of Spanish mothers, p 5 0.01). The proportions of premature births, low birth weight and very-low birth weight showed no statistically significant differences between immigrant and Spanish mothers (15 vs. 10.6, 6.4 vs. 9.4, and 2.1 vs. 1.5, respectively, p > 0.05 in all comparisons). Perinatal complications, including an Apgar score < or = 6, and the need for admission to the neonatal unit or to the intensive or intermediate care units, were not more frequent in the newborns of immigrant mothers. Immigrant women had less social or family support after delivery and maternity leave was much less frequent (62 % vs. 90 %, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Most of the immigrant women had healthy pregnancies and healthy birth outcomes. Perinatal complications do not seem to be more frequent among immigrant women. Differences were found in social support. To improve the health of these children, social support to immigrant women and their children should be intensified.