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Pregnancy and the newborn period data book

The Health of the people of New South Wales
Report of the Chief Health Officer

Download the Pregnancy and the newborn period data book

Summary

  • Overall, NSW mothers and babies enjoy very good health, though Aboriginal mothers and babies, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, continue to have poorer health.

  • In 2006, 92,781 births occurred in NSW.

  • The birth rate in NSW is declining, but not as steeply as in Australia as a whole. The average woman in NSW can currently expect to give birth to 1.8 babies in her lifetime.

  • Among NSW mothers:
    - mothers aged 35 years and over account for around 22% of all births, while teenage mothers account for around 4% of all births;
    - just over a half of mothers take folate supplements, both one month before and in the first trimester of pregnancy, as recommended to prevent neural tube defects, with 48% of mothers without tertiary qualifications compared with 61% of mother with tertiary qualifications taking folate supplements as recommended;
    - around 77% have their first antenatal visit before 16 weeks and 88% before 20 weeks gestation;
    - around 14% report smoking during pregnancy, with this percentage varying markedly according to local government area of residence.

  • Among NSW babies:
    - about one-quarter of those born to mothers aged 35 years and over undergo prenatal cytogenetic tests for birth defects;
    - around 7% are born prematurely, and 6% are of low birthweight, with babies born to teenage mothers having the highest rates of prematurity (9%) and low birth-weight (8%);
    - just under 6% are admitted to a neonatal special care nursery or neonatal intensive care;
    - about 1.5% are reported to have a congenital abnormality;
    - the rate of perinatal deaths has slowly declined, although rates remain higher in rural areas.

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File link: Pregnancy and the newborn period data book
File size: &booksize
Type: Report
Date of Publication: &bookdate
Author Branch: Centre for Epidemiology & Research

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