Frequently asked questions
- What do we know about Indigenous births? (November 2007)
- For more detailed information about births among Indigenous Australians:
| Please reference this document as: Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (2007). Frequently asked questions: what do we know about Indigenous births? Retrieved [access date] from http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_keyfacts/faq/faq_births/faq_births.htm |
What do we know about Indigenous births?
What do we know about the number of Indigenous births?
In 2006, there were 12,496 births registered in Australia where one or both parents were identified as Indigenous (accounting for five out of every 100 births) [1]. The actual number of Indigenous births was probably greater as not all births are correctly identified. Completeness of identification varies across the country, with only Qld, WA, SA and the NT having consistently high levels in recent years.
For Indigenous births in 2006 [1]:
• 30% of Indigenous births occurred where both parents were
Indigenous;
• 41% of Indigenous births occurred where only the mother
was Indigenous (including births where the father's Indigenous status
was unknown or not acknowledged);
• 29% of Indigenous births occurred where the father was Indigenous
(including births where the mother's Indigenous status was not stated).
What do we know about births to Indigenous mothers?
Overall, Indigenous women have more babies and have them at younger ages than do non-Indigenous women. Based on information about births in 2006, an Indigenous woman would have, on average, 2.12 births in her lifetime compared with 1.81 births for all Australian woman [1].
In 2006 [1]
• Indigenous birth rates varied across the States and Territories
with the highest rate in the NT (2.41 babies per woman), followed
by SA (2.54 per 1,000), WA (2.28 per 1,000), and Qld (2.04 per 1,000);
• the peak age group for births to Indigenous women was 20–24
years (124 babies per 1,000 women) compared with 30–34 years
(120 per 1,000) for all women;
• the birth rate among teenage Indigenous women (69 babies
per 1,000 women) was more than four times the rate for all teenage
women (15 per 1,000);
• the highest birth rate for teenage Indigenous women was
in the NT (113 babies per 1,000 women), which was nearly twice that
for all teenage women in the NT (64 per 1,000). The second highest
rate was for WA (82 per 1,000), followed by SA (78 per 1,000).
What do we know about the weights of babies born to Indigenous mothers?
The average birthweight of babies born to Indigenous mothers in 2004 was 3,158 grams, which was 216 grams less than the average for babies born to all Australian mothers (3,374 grams) [2]. The average birthweight of babies born to Indigenous mothers varied among States and Territories and ranged from 3,073 grams in SA to 3,197 grams in NSW. In contrast, the average birthweights of babies born to all Australian mothers varied little across Australia, except for the NT.
Babies born to Indigenous women were more than twice as likely to be of low birthweight than those born to all Australian women (13.2% compared with 6.4%) [2]. (Low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams) can increase the risk of health problems.) The highest proportions of low birthweight were for babies born to Indigenous women in SA (17.6%), Vic (16.2%) and WA (14.4%). (Based on quite small numbers, the proportions for the ACT were not considered here.)
References
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007)
Births 2006. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics
2 Laws P, Grayson N, Sullivan EA (2006) Australia's
mothers and babies 2004. (AIHW catalogue no. PER 34) Sydney:
AIHW National Perinatal Statistics Unit
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