Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway
Background: Migrants are known to have an increased risk for adverse complications during delivery. However, it is not known whether undocumented migrants have a different risk profile compared to documented migrants and non-migrants. Better knowledge about undocumented migrants’ reproductive outcom...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Migration and Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623525000170 |
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| author | Ragnhild Misje Frode Eick Odd Martin Vallersnes Heidi E. Fjeld Ingvil K. Sørbye Cecilie Dahl |
| author_facet | Ragnhild Misje Frode Eick Odd Martin Vallersnes Heidi E. Fjeld Ingvil K. Sørbye Cecilie Dahl |
| author_sort | Ragnhild Misje |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Migrants are known to have an increased risk for adverse complications during delivery. However, it is not known whether undocumented migrants have a different risk profile compared to documented migrants and non-migrants. Better knowledge about undocumented migrants’ reproductive outcomes is crucial to enable targeted preventive interventions. Method: We performed a historical register-based population study based on numbers from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN) from 1999 to 2020. Women aged 18–49 years with singleton births were included, in total 1,247,537 births. Legal status, i.e., undocumented migrants (without a Norwegian identity number), documented migrants (with a Norwegian identity number and born abroad) and non-migrants (with a Norwegian identity number and born in Norway), was used as the exposure. We used logistic regression to estimate the association between legal status and adverse maternal birth outcomes. Results: In total 5856 undocumented migrant women gave birth during the study period, representing 0.5 % of all births in Norway. Undocumented migrants had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.39 (95 % Confidence Interval (CI) 1.28–1.50) for an acute CS and OR=0.86 (95 % CI 0.76–0.98) for a planned CS, both compared to non-migrants. Similarly, the OR for severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) was =1.22 (95 % CI 1.03–1.43) and OR=0.69 (95 % CI=0.56–0.85) for anal sphincter injury. None of the results were significantly different when documented migrants were used as the reference group. Conclusion: Undocumented migrants have an increased risk of adverse maternal birth complications compared to non-migrants, but not different from documented migrants. This indicates that for maternal birth complications, factors concerning migration may affect the risk profile to a larger degree than legal status. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea36795be97f450abcc315801e9a716f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-6235 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Migration and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea36795be97f450abcc315801e9a716f2025-08-20T03:11:26ZengElsevierJournal of Migration and Health2666-62352025-01-011110031810.1016/j.jmh.2025.100318Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in NorwayRagnhild Misje0Frode Eick1Odd Martin Vallersnes2Heidi E. Fjeld3Ingvil K. Sørbye4Cecilie Dahl5Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway; Lovisenberg Diaconal University College, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway; Oslo Accident and Emergency Outpatient Clinic, Department of Emergency General Practice, City of Oslo Health Agency, NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Obstetrics, Division of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Oslo University Hospital, NorwayDepartment of Public Health Science, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Address: Postboks 1130 Blindern, Oslo 0318, Norway; Corresponding author.Background: Migrants are known to have an increased risk for adverse complications during delivery. However, it is not known whether undocumented migrants have a different risk profile compared to documented migrants and non-migrants. Better knowledge about undocumented migrants’ reproductive outcomes is crucial to enable targeted preventive interventions. Method: We performed a historical register-based population study based on numbers from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN) from 1999 to 2020. Women aged 18–49 years with singleton births were included, in total 1,247,537 births. Legal status, i.e., undocumented migrants (without a Norwegian identity number), documented migrants (with a Norwegian identity number and born abroad) and non-migrants (with a Norwegian identity number and born in Norway), was used as the exposure. We used logistic regression to estimate the association between legal status and adverse maternal birth outcomes. Results: In total 5856 undocumented migrant women gave birth during the study period, representing 0.5 % of all births in Norway. Undocumented migrants had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.39 (95 % Confidence Interval (CI) 1.28–1.50) for an acute CS and OR=0.86 (95 % CI 0.76–0.98) for a planned CS, both compared to non-migrants. Similarly, the OR for severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) was =1.22 (95 % CI 1.03–1.43) and OR=0.69 (95 % CI=0.56–0.85) for anal sphincter injury. None of the results were significantly different when documented migrants were used as the reference group. Conclusion: Undocumented migrants have an increased risk of adverse maternal birth complications compared to non-migrants, but not different from documented migrants. This indicates that for maternal birth complications, factors concerning migration may affect the risk profile to a larger degree than legal status.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623525000170Caesarean Section (CS)IrregularMaternal healthMigrantsUndocumentedUniversal health coverage |
| spellingShingle | Ragnhild Misje Frode Eick Odd Martin Vallersnes Heidi E. Fjeld Ingvil K. Sørbye Cecilie Dahl Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway Journal of Migration and Health Caesarean Section (CS) Irregular Maternal health Migrants Undocumented Universal health coverage |
| title | Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway |
| title_full | Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway |
| title_fullStr | Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway |
| title_short | Increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in Norway |
| title_sort | increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes among undocumented migrants in norway |
| topic | Caesarean Section (CS) Irregular Maternal health Migrants Undocumented Universal health coverage |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623525000170 |
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