Immigrant parents might be at greater risk of stillborn births, Ontario study suggests

Interesting study and like many, while pointing out patterns, suggests areas for further research and understanding of the various factors involved:

Nearly three million babies are born every year without any signs of life, a phenomenon that remains poorly understood by medical science. But a new study by Ontario researchers suggests that some parents who are immigrants might be at greater risk of having a stillborn birth.

The paper, published Tuesday by the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, found a “significantly higher risk of stillbirth” among first-generation immigrant parents in Ontario — especially when both mom and dad were born in the same country where stillbirth rates are high.

Analyzing the top 20 countries from which couples immigrate to Ontario, researchers found parents from Nigeria, Portugal, Jamaica and Guyana had the greatest risk of stillbirth compared to Canadian-born couples. Parents born in China, the Philippines and Afghanistan had a slightly lower risk than Canadian couples.

“We’re trying to ask in the Canadian setting, where we have extreme diversity, whether there’s a difference between immigrants and non-immigrants in the risk of stillbirths,” said senior author, Dr. Joel Ray, a clinician scientist with St. Michael’s Hospital.

Ray hypothesized that certain immigrant couples could share genetic factors or environmental exposures that give them a higher risk of stillbirth. But he emphasized his study was still preliminary and there is no reason for foreign-born parents to be alarmed. More research is needed before conclusions can be drawn and “fortunately, stillbirths are rare and are still largely predicted by unknown factors rather than the origin of the couples.”

David Savitz, a professor of epidemiology, obstetrics and gynecology at Brown University, also cautioned that ethnicity alone cannot be blamed for stillbirths. Rather, it should be treated as a “marker” for some other factor, like economic status, which could be elevating the risk.

“(This paper) provides clues, and they can be very useful ones, but it’s a very early stage,” said Savitz, who was not involved with this study.

Immigrant parents might be at greater risk of stillborn births, Ontario study suggests | Toronto Star.