This study compares the maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of infants of Asian immigrant mothers from developing countries with those of the infants of Korean mothers.

In this multicenter and retrospective study, Asian immigrant women who had delivered between January 2005 and June 2008 were enrolled from9 Medical Centers. In all, 333 births to Asian immigrant women from developing countries (Asian-Korean infants) were included in this study. In addition, sex-, birth year-, and gestational age-matched 333 neonates born to Korean mothers were selected as the control group (Korean infants). On the basis of the hospital data, we investigated the nationality, age, and medical history of the mothers and compared the incidence of congenital infection, Apgar score, weight, height, and head circumference of Asian-Korean infants with those of the Korean infants.

The average maternal age of Asian women from developing countries at birth term was 26.7 years, which was significantly lower than that of Korean women (30.8 years, P <0.05). The birth weight of Asian-Korean infants (2,869 g) was significantly smaller than that of Korean infants (2,995 g, P <0.05). There was a significant difference in the incidence of congenital syphilis infection between the Asian-Korean infants and Korean infants (5 cases vs. 0 case, P <0.05).

There were significant differences in the perinatal outcomes between the Korean and Asian-Korean infants. A multicenter large-scaled study should be performed to analyze the perinatal outcomes of Asian-Korean infants.