STANFORD , Calif., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Asian women whose partners are white are more likely than white women with Asian or white partners to have a Caesarean section, researchers said.
Researchers at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine said it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of Asian-white couples, but 14.3 percent of Americans are reported to be of the Asian race by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"There's great heterogeneity in our country; there are people of many different races and backgrounds," study co-author Dr. Yasser El-Sayed said in a statement. "Gaining better insight into the risks facing specific populations provides for better counseling and better prenatal care."
The researchers looked at data from white, Asian and Asian-white couples who delivered at the Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services at Packard Children's from 2000 through 2005 -- 5,575 white, 3,226 Asian and 868 Asian-white couples.
The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found that white mother/Asian father couples had the lowest Caesarean rate of 23 percent, while Asian mother/white father couples had the highest rate at 33.2 percent.
Because birth weights between these two groups were similar, the researchers said the findings suggest that the average Asian woman's pelvis may be smaller than the average white woman's and less able to accommodate babies of a certain size.
