[Assisted labor among non European community pregnant women at the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic of the Verona University].

Background: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role and the prevalence of the non-European Community pregnant women in our Institute during the period 1992-1998. The peculiarity of the female immigration in the world and particularly in Italy is stressed from the point of view of the different cultural, ethnic and religious problems of these women.
Methods: During the observed period 8972 women delivered; 434 of them came from non-European Community countries and their individual (age, country) and obstetric (parity, physiological or pathological evaluation of pregnancy, mode of delivery) data were observed. On the basis of the different countries of provenance these women have been subdivided into five groups (East Europe, North Africa and Middle East, Central Africa, Far East and Latin America).
Results: The percentages of preterm births (24.2% vs 23.1%), of < or = 1500 g newborns (6.9% vs 5.3%) and of caesarean sections (34.3% vs 27.7%) are higher in the non-European Community women that delivered in our Institute. In 222 (51.1%) cases the women delivered without induction of labour; while in 14.5% of cases it was induced. The length of labour and the genital conditions (episiotomy, tearing) were considered in all ethnic groups of women.
Conclusions: On the basis of the literature and of the analysis of our data, some suggestions about the management of labour and delivery of non-European Community women in Italy are proposed. In particular, the problems of linguistic communication and of the hospital staff preparation in the assistance to labour and delivery are stressed.