Australia’s mothers and babies 2007
From Embryology
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 Laws P & Sullivan EA 2009. Australia’s mothers and babies 2007. Perinatal statistics series no. 23. Cat. no. PER 48. Sydney: AIHW National Perinatal Statistics Unit and is provided for educational purposes only. The original full publication is available online from AIHW Perinatal statistics series no. 23.
Links: AIHW Perinatal statistics series no. 23 | AIHW National Perinatal Statistics Unit | Australian Statistics | Statistics- Australian Maternal Statistics
Mothers
- 289,496 women gave birth resulting in a total of 294,205 births
- increase of 4.3% from 2006, and 14.4% increase since 2004
- 2,177 were fetal deaths
- 29.9 years was the maternal mean age in 2007
- compared with 28.9 years in 1998
- 41.6% of mothers had their first baby and 33.5% had their second baby
- 10,883 women were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (3.8% of all women who gave birth)
- 39.5% of all mothers in the Northern Territory
- 25.2 years was the average age of women who gave birth
Assisted reproduction technology
- 3.1% women received ART treatment
- ranging from 1.4% in the Australian Capital Territory to 3.7% in Tasmania
- 34.1 years was the average age of women who received ART
- 62.7% of mothers who received ART treatment were having their first baby and 37.3% had given birth previously
Smoking during pregnancy
- 16.6% of women smoked during pregnancy
- this proportion is little changed over the previous five years
Preterm birth
- 7.4% of all mothers (less than 37 completed weeks of gestation)
- 38.8 weeks is the average duration of pregnancy
Multiple pregnancy
- 4,634 multiple pregnancies (1.6% of all mothers) increasing due to the increased use of ART
- 4,558 twin pregnancies
- 76 triplet pregnancies
- no quadruplet pregnancies
Presentation at birth
- 94.6% cephalic (any part vertex, face, or brow of the fetal head)
- 4.0% breech (buttocks or feet)
Method of birth
- 57.9% vaginal births
- 11.2% had an instrumental vaginal delivery (forceps or vacuum extraction)
- 30.9% caesarean section births
- 21.1% in 1998, 30.8% in 2006, rate recently stable
- 83.3% of these were repeat caesarean sections
- epilepsy, diabetes mellitus and hypertension, antepartum haemorrhage, gestational diabetes, cord prolapse and retained placenta, pregnancy-induced hypertension, fetal distress in labour and post-partum haemorrhage rates
Postnatal length of stay
- 2.0 days non-instrumental vaginal birth
- 3.0 days vacuum extraction delivery
- 4.0 days caesarean section or forceps delivery