Talk:Australia’s mothers and babies 2009
Suggested citation
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.
Maternal age
Maternal age is an important risk factor for both obstetric and perinatal outcomes. Adverse outcomes are more likely to occur in younger and older mothers. In 2009, the age of mothers ranged from less than 15 to 58 years. The average age of women who gave birth in Australia has increased by 7.5% since 1991. The mean age in 2009 was 30.0 years, compared with 29.0 years in 2000, while the median age in 2009 was 30.0 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers
In 2009, 11,284 women who identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander gave birth in Australia, representing 3.8% of all women who gave birth (Table 3.2). Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers accounted for a much greater proportion of all mothers in the Northern Territory (38.2%) than in other jurisdictions.
Parity
Parity is the number of a woman’s previous pregnancies that resulted in a birth. In 2009, 41.6% of mothers had their first baby and 33.5% had their second baby. About one in six mothers (15.0%) had given birth twice previously and 9.8% had given birth three or more times (Table 3.8).
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