[Has the health profile and pregnant Ethiopian immigrants changed in the Ashkelon region in the past years?].
There are about 6500 births yearly in the Ashkelon District. 6% of the mothers are Ethiopians, most of whom immigrated to Israel since the early 90's. Our data are from 3 sources: birth certificates, infant death certificates, and the national population register. Birth rates in single mothers and rates of low-birth-weight births have declined over the years. Infant mortality and still-birth rates have also shown remarkable and consistent declines between 1990-1995. We conclude that improvement in life conditions of Ethiopian immigrants and better use of health services have had a great impact on birth outcomes and pregnancy patterns. The gap between Ethiopian immigrants and other Jewish communities in Israel is closing fast.
Peled
R
R
Public Health Dept., Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon.
Scharf
S
S
Melamed
Z
Z
Arbeli
Y
Y
Strachilevitch
N
N
Benyaish
D
D
D001719:Birth Certificates; D003644:Death Certificates; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000639:trends*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D011247:Pregnancy