The pregnancy and newborn outcomes of Syrian refugees and Turkish women in a tertiary center, in İstanbul, Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the pregnancy characteristics and neonatal outcomes of Syrian refugees and those of Turkish citizens who had been given birth in a tertiary referral center in İstanbul, Türkiye. Material and Methods: This retrospective study included 100 Syrian refugees and 100 Turkish pregnant women who gave birth in University of Health Sciences, Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Training and Research Hospital, conducted between January 2015 and August 2018. The primary goal was to figure out whether the pregnant women get enough healthcare and the effects on maternal and early neonatal outcomes. Results: Syrian pregnant’s hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular volume values were found to be lower than the Turkish women but not lower than the lower limit accepted for anemia during pregnancy. The rate of having antenatal screening tests and the mean number of hospitalizations was significantly lower among Syrian pregnant women than that of Turkish pregnant women. Conclusion: Although providing regular and free healthcare in Türkiye, Syrian refugees cannot receive adequate healthcare due to reasons such as language lim-itations, cultural differences and low socioeconomic level. The initiatives related to Turkish language educations and keeping qualified translators could improve the negative conditions.