Ethnic differences in risk factors for adverse birth outcomes between Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and White British mothers

Aim: Reducing poor maternal and infant outcomes in pregnancy is the aim of maternity care. Adverse health behaviours lead to increased risk and can adversely mediate birth outcomes. This study examines whether risk factors are similar, different, or clustered according to maternal ethnicity. Design: Retrospective analysis of routinely collected data (2008−2013). Methods: We analysed data routinely collected data from a local University Hospital Ciconia Maternity information System (CMiS), for White British, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi women (N = 15,211) using cross-tabulations, ANCOVA, adjusted standardized residuals (ASR), and Pearson's chi-squared statistics. Results: The results demonstrate distinct clusters of risk factors between White British, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi mothers. Additionally, Pakistani mothers had the highest number of statistically significant risk factors, according to maternal ethnicity, showing that 49% of women in this cohort that were diagnosed with diabetes were Pakistani, 21.5% of White British women smoked and results showed that Bangladeshi mothers delivered the lightest weight infants (adjusted mean: 3,055.4 g). Conclusions: This study showed differences in the risk factors between White British, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi mothers. The identified risk factors were clustered by maternal ethnicity. Impact: Identification of these risk factor clusters can help policymakers and clinicians direct resources and may help reduce ethnic variation found in these populations that might be attributed to adverse health behaviours and increased risk factors.