Association between migration and severe maternal outcomes in high-income countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis

by Maxime Eslier, Elie Azria, Konstantinos Chatzistergiou, Zelda Stewart, Agn ès Dechartres, Catherine Deneux-Tharaux BackgroundLiterature focusing on migration and maternal health inequalities is inconclusive, possibly because of the heterogeneous definitions and settings studied. We aimed to synthesize the literature comparing the risks of severe maternal outcomes in high-income countries between migrant and native-born women, overall and by host country and region of birth. Methods and findingsSystematic literature review and meta-analysis using the Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for the period from January 1, 1990 to April 18, 2023. We included observational studies comparing the risk of maternal mortality or all-cause or cause-specific severe maternal morbidity in high-income countries between migrant women, defined by birth outside the host country, and native-born women; used the Newcastle –Ottawa scale tool to assess risk of bias; and performed random-effects meta-analyses. Subgroup analyses were planned by host country and region of birth.The initial 2,290 unique references produced 35 studies published as 39 reports covering Europe, Australia, the United States of America, and Ca nada. In Europe, migrant women had a higher risk of maternal mortality than native-born women (pooled risk ratio [RR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14, 1.58;p
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research