AIHW - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

03/08/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/07/2023 07:22

Health of mothers and babies

Preliminary perinatal deaths

A stillbirth is the death of a baby before birth, at a gestational age of 20 weeks or more, or a birthweight of 400 grams or more. A neonatal death is the death of a liveborn baby within 28 days of birth. Perinatal deaths include both stillbirth and neonatal deaths.

In 2020, there were 9.9 perinatal deaths for every 1,000 births, a total of 2,944 perinatal deaths. This included:

  • 2,272 stillbirths, a rate of 7.7 deaths per 1,000 births.
  • 672 neonatal deaths, a rate of 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Between 2010 and 2020 the stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates remained largely unchanged at between 7 and 8 in 1,000 births and between 2 and 3 in 1,000 live births, respectively. In 2020, Congenital anomaly was the most common cause of perinatal death.

For more information see Stillbirths and neonatal deaths in Australia.

Maternal deaths

Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and outcome of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Between 2011 and 2020, the maternal mortality ratio in Australia was relatively stable, ranging from between 5.0 to 8.4 per 100,000 women giving birth.

The most frequent causes of maternal death reported in Australia between 2011and 2020 were complications of pre-existing or new cardiovascular disease and thromboembolism.

For more information see Maternal deaths.

Congenital anomalies

Congenital anomalies encompass a wide range of atypical bodily structures or functions that are present at or before birth. They are a cause of child death and disability, and a major cause of perinatal death.

In 2016, over 8,900 (3%) babies were born with a congenital anomaly, almost 1 in 31 babies. Circulatory system anomalies (these are anomalies of the heart and major blood vessels) were the most common type of anomaly, 29% of babies with any anomaly having a circulatory system anomaly. Most (91%) babies with an anomaly survived their first year.

Congenital anomaly rates were higher in:

  • Babies born pre-term (before 37 weeks' gestation), at a rate of 107 per 1,000 births.
  • Babies born with low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams), at a rate of 123 per 1,000 births.
  • Babies who were small for gestational age (that is with a birthweight below the 10th percentile for their gestational age and sex), at a rate of 45 per 1,000 births.

For more information see Congenital anomalies 2016.

Maternity models of care

A maternity model of care describes how a group of women are cared for during pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period.

In 2022, nearly 900 maternity models of care were reported across Australian maternity services, and they can be grouped into 11 major model categories. Amongst them:

  • The most common major model category is public hospital maternity care with 40% of all models of care falling into this category.
  • Just under one-third of models (31%) have continuity of carer through the whole maternity period, meaning a single named designated carer provides or coordinates care for the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods; around one-third (32%) of models have continuity of carer for some part of the maternity period (for example the antenatal period only or the antenatal and postnatal periods) and 37% of models have no continuity of carer in any stage of the maternity period, so there is no named carer assigned to each woman and care is given by different providers.
  • Around 540 (61%) models of care are targeted at specific groups of women who share a common characteristic or set of characteristics. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identification is a target group in 11% of models.

For more information, read the full Maternal models of care report.

For more information on the health of mothers and babies, see:

References

AHMAC (Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council) (2011) National Maternity Services Plan, Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Government, accessed 16 March 2022.

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2020) Australia's mothers and babies, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2023.

Department of Health and Aged Care (2021a) Clinical practice guidelines: pregnancy care, Department of Health, Australian Government, accessed 16 March 2022.

Department of Health and Aged Care (2021b) COVID-19 temporary MBS telehealth services, Department of Health, Australian Government, accessed 6 March 2022.

RANZCOG (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) (2021) A message for pregnant women and their families, RANZCOG, accessed 24 February 2023.

RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) (2022) Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in pregnancy. Information for healthcare professionals, RCOG website, accessed 7 March 2022.

WHO RHR (World Health Organization Department of Reproductive Health and Research) (2015) WHO statement on caesarean section rates, WHO website, accessed 3 March 2022.