Australia’s mothers and babies 2009
Introduction
This data summarised below is provided to help you as a clinician or researcher understand the current trends in reproductive medicine within Australia.
The information is based upon data from the publication "Australia's mothers and babies 2009"[1] and is provided for educational purposes only. The original full publication is available online from AIHW Perinatal statistics series no. 25.
| AIHW Perinatal statistics series no. 25 | AIHW NPSU version | AIHW National Perinatal Statistics Unit | Australia’s mothers and babies 2007 | Australia’s mothers and babies 2008 | Australia’s mothers and babies 2009
Summary
More births
Australia’s mothers and babies 2009 is the nineteenth annual report on pregnancy and childbirth in Australia providing national information on women who gave birth and the characteristics and outcomes of their babies.
- 2009 - 296,791 live births and 2,341 fetal deaths
- 2008 - 294,737 live births and 2,188 fetal deaths
- 2007 - 292,027 live births and 2,177 fetal deaths
Antenatal factors
Smoking while pregnant was reported by 14.5% of all mothers and by 37.0% of teenage mothers. In the 4 jurisdictions where data on the number of antenatal visits were available, 97.3% of women who gave birth at 32 weeks or more gestation attended at least one antenatal visit, with 91.9% attending 5 or more.
Indigenous mothers
Of women who gave birth during 2008, 3.8% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The average age of Indigenous mothers was 25.1 years, compared with 30.1 years for non-Indigenous mothers. Over half of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers reported smoking during pregnancy (50.9%), compared with 14.4% of non-Indigenous women who gave birth.
Labour and delivery
About 3.8% of women who gave birth during 2009 identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Indigenous mothers are younger than non-Indigenous mothers; their average age was 25.3 years, compared with 30.2 years for non-Indigenous mothers. Smoking during pregnancy was reported by half (49.6%) of Indigenous mothers. Of Indigenous mothers who gave birth at 32 weeks or more gestation, 76.8% attended 5 or more antenatal visits.
Baby outcomes
In 2009, 8.2% of babies were born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) and 0.9% post-term (42 weeks gestation or more). Overall, 6.2% of liveborn babies were of low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams) and this nearly doubled (10.8%) among mothers who smoking during pregnancy. Less than 1.5% of liveborn babies had a low Apgar score (measure of the baby’s condition at birth). The perinatal death rate was 9.8 per 1,000 births in 2009, which comprised fetal and neonatal death rates of 7.8 per 1,000 births and 3.0 per 1,000 live births respectively.
References
- ↑ Li Z, McNally L, Hilder L & Sullivan EA 2011. Australia’s mothers and babies 2009. Perinatal statistics series no. 25. Cat. no. PER 52. Sydney: AIHW National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit. Viewed 3 January 2012 <http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737420870>
External Links
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