BIRTH CHARACTERISTICS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Abstract

The Syrian crisis has caused a large number of refugees to flee to Turkey. This study aimed to investigate the birth characteristics of Syrian refugees in Istanbul, Turkey. A retrospective study was conducted of singleton live births that occurred at a hospital in Istanbul between June 1 and December 31, 2015. All Syrian refugees were eligible for inclusion. The main outcomes were cesarean delivery, gestational diabetes, and pre-eclampsia. The results showed that cesarean delivery was more common among Syrian refugees than Turkish citizens (32.3% vs. 43.1%). Median neonatal birth weight was also lower among Syrian refugees (3110 g vs. 3300 g). Gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia were less common among Syrian refugees than Turkish citizens (1.7% vs. 7.7% and 1.5% vs. 3.9%, respectively). These findings suggest that Syrian refugees in Turkey have different birth characteristics than Turkish citizens. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for these differences and to develop interventions to improve the health of Syrian refugee women and their babies.