Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(Supplement):S25-S31 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5273

Risk factors of preterm birth and low birth weight neonates among Roma and non-Roma mothers

Jana Diabelková1, Kvetoslava Rimárová1, Peter Urdzík2, Erik Dorko1, Andrea Bušová1
1 Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic
2 Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and Louis Pasteur University Hospital, Košice, Slovak Republic

Objective: This study analyses the differences in birth outcomes between Roma and non-Roma mothers and investigates the potential causes of such differences.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1,989 non-Roma and 799 Roma mothers who gave birth in 2014 and 2015 at the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinic of Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice. Data on mothers and new-born infants have been obtained from the birth book and from the reports on mothers at childbirth. For low birth weight we considered the weight of a new-born weighing less than 2,500 grams and as for premature birth we referred to childbirth before pregnancy week 37. The file was split by ethnicity and statistically processed in IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0.

Results: Our results confirmed a lower birth weight among Roma children (-365.4 grams, p < 0.001). The shorter gestation age and higher risk of premature birth were not statistically significant regarding Roma children. Based on the characteristics of Roma mothers, they are at higher risk of giving birth as minor (OR = 23.64; 95% CI = 15.29-36.54; p < 0.001), as single mothers (OR = 7.13; 95% CI = 5.80-8.76; p < 0.001), with basic education or lack of education (OR = 141.31; 95% CI = 100.47-198.76; p < 0.001). They also have a higher risk of smoking during pregnancy (OR = 23.84; 95% CI = 18.06-31.49; p < 0.001); drinking alcohol (OR = 11.71; 95% CI = 3.36-40.90; p < 0.001) and taking drugs (OR = 8.70; 95% CI = 1.81-42.02; p < 0.001). Roma women attended gynaecologists more rarely.

Conclusion: It is therefore important to support the work of community health workers and stimulate collaboration between community health professionals, paediatricians and gynaecologists to overcome institutional barriers in maternity and child care for mothers living in Roma settlement.

Keywords: birth outcomes, birth weight, preterm birth, Roma infants, risk factors

Received: December 5, 2017; Revised: August 20, 2018; Accepted: August 20, 2018; Published: December 31, 2018  Show citation

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Diabelková J, Rimárová K, Urdzík P, Dorko E, Bušová A. Risk factors of preterm birth and low birth weight neonates among Roma and non-Roma mothers. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2018;26(Supplement):S25-31. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5273. PubMed PMID: 30817869.
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