Table 3 Potential mechanisms & risk factors involved in caesareans among migrants
From: International migration and caesarean birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Mechanism/Risk factor* | Number of studies |
|---|---|
Income and social status | |
Low SES (education, income) | 15 |
Higher social status | 5 |
No legal status | 2 |
Poor nutritional status | 1 |
Social support networks | |
No partner and/or family, friends | 4 |
Education and literacy | |
High education | 3 |
Employment and working conditions | |
Low status job | 1 |
Social environment | |
Poor living conditions | 2 |
Physical environment | |
Violence, trauma or experiences of abuse | 1 |
Personal health practices | |
High BMI &/or Gestational diabetes/diabetes | 12 |
Smoking, drug or alcohol abuse | 1 |
Healthy child development | |
Fetal distress | 6 |
Low birthweight | 3 |
Prematurity | 2 |
Biology and genetic endowment | |
Illness and other pathologies (e.g., anaemia, hepatitis, TB, malaria, HIV/STIs, parasitic or other infections) | 14 |
Pelvis shape/size (feto-pelvic disproportion) | 13 |
Older age | 7 |
Short stature | 4 |
Pre-eclampsia/hypertension | 4 |
Prolonged labour/failure to progress | 3 |
Post-datism | 3 |
Health services | |
Language/communication barriers | 18 |
Lack of healthcare including prenatal care | 10 |
Discrimination/racism | 1 |
Hospital environment | 1 |
Gender | |
Genital cutting | 7 |
Culture | |
Beliefs/preferences about birth | 8 |
Grand-multiparity | 8 |
Inter-racial marriage (leading to large birthweight babies) | 4 |
Acculturation (adoption of unhealthy lifestyles) | 3 |
Different concepts of health and disease (leading to different health seeking behaviour) | 2 |
Reduced food intake during pregnancy (to have a smaller fetus) | 1 |