Birth defects in the offspring of non-Caucasian, non-indigenous women in Western Australia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Birth defects in infants born to non-Caucasian, non-Indigenous mothers in Australia have not been described in detail previously. METHODS: Using data from the Western Australian Maternal and Child Health Research Data Base, an index cohort of all non-Caucasian, non-Indigenous mothers giving birth in Western Australia between 1985 and 1995 (n = 17,706 births) was compared with a 10% random sample of births to Caucasian mothers (n = 24,180) over the same period. RESULTS: Overall, the index mothers had a 21% less risk of having a baby with birth defects (prevalence ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-0.86). The six major countries of birth of the index mothers were Vietnam, t..