THE CHILD FROM NON ITALIAN PARENTS

Key words: Immigrant children, Adopted children, Anticipatory guidance, Screening

The demographic and health profile of children who are residents in Italy and were born from non italian families has rapidly changed over the last few years. The biggest group is now represented by babies born in Italy from non italian parents: they were 21.175 in 1999, that corresponds to almost 4% of all babies who were born in Italy in the same year, with a 25% increase over 1998. These children usually do not present any particular medical problem. Careful screening and anticipatory guidance about nutritional status, immunizations and infectious diseases, such as hepatits and tuberculosis, is recommended for internationally adopted children and refugees.