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The Great Divide: Country of birth as a risk factor for obstetric anal sphincter injuries
Author(s) -
Brown James,
Kapurubandara Supuni,
Gibbs Emma,
King Jennifer
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/ajo.12672
Subject(s) - medicine , obstetrics , anal sphincter , pregnancy , cohort , risk factor , forceps delivery , vaginal delivery , singleton , retrospective cohort study , demography , gynecology , surgery , biology , genetics , sociology
Background Obstetric anal sphincter injuries ( OASIS ) can complicate up to 6% of births and are a major contributor to preventable maternal morbidity. Asian women have a risk of third and fourth degree perineal tears up to four times greater than women of other ethnicities in the same community, but the lack of differentiation of Asian women into regional groups has limited insight into the reasons behind their increased risk. Aims To investigate risk of OASIS associated with country of birth. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of all women with a singleton, nulliparous pregnancy who delivered vaginally by spontaneous vaginal birth or an instrumental delivery between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2015. The demographics of women who experienced OASIS were compared with those women who had minor perineal trauma. Results From January 2009 to December 2015 there were 10 750 singleton, nulliparous and natural vaginal birth ( NVB) , forceps or vacuum deliveries. Of these deliveries, 581 (5.4%) werehad third degree tears and 36 (0.3%) fourth degree tears. Women born in South Asia were at a much higher risk of OASIS than other groups, including women born in other Asian countries, compared to the Australian/New Zealand cohort. One in every 10 nulliparous South Asian women having a singleton vaginal or instrumental delivery will sustain an OASIS . Conclusions Our study further confirms the role of Asian ethnicity in the risk of OASIS , and is the second to confirm that South Asian women are at a dramatically increased risk.