Background Increasing numbers of women from other European countries are now delivering in Irish maternity hospitals due to immigration. The authors compared labour outcomes between Irish and Eastern European women.

Method The consecutive cohort comprised 5550 Irish and 867 Eastern European (EE) women delivered in Cork University Maternity Hospital in 2009 and contributed 89.8% of the 7141 singleton pregnancies that resulted in live births. Women who had elective Caesarean section (CS) or multiple pregnancies were excluded. Data obtained from birth registers included maternal age, nationality, parity and gestation, onset of labour, mode of delivery and birth weight.

Results The overall intrapartum CS rate was 11.4%. The proportion of nulliparas was higher in EE compared to Irish women (63.6% vs 44.8%, p<0.001). EE women were younger with 1.7% of nulliparas aged more than 35, compared to 24% of Irish women (p<0.001).

The overall intrapartum CS rate was higher in Irish compared to EE women (11.8% vs 8.8%, p=0.004), however the primigravid intrapartum CS rate was almost doubled in Irish compared to EE women (20.7% vs 11.1%, p<0.001). The nulliparous induction rate was 45.4% in Irish women compared to 32% in EE women. Intrapartum CS rate for induced nulliparous was higher in Irish compared with EE women (28% vs 18.8%, p=0.015).

Conclusion The composite results highlight that primigravid intrapartum CS rates are significantly lower in EE compared to Irish women. This could potentially be explained by the younger age and lower induction rates in EE nulliparas.