About 1 in 4 Australian women will remain childless by the end
of their reproductive lives, according to a report released today
by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Australia's birth rates are lower than they have ever been and
national fertility rates are continuing to fall. Australian women
now give birth to an average of 1.75 children during their lives
compared with 2.9 children in the 1970s.
The replacement level fertility rate (the number of children a
woman needs to have to replace both herself and her partner) is
2.06.
Delayed child-bearing, an increase in the number of women having
no children, and a decline in the number of women having three or
more children have all been associated with lower fertility
rates.
Reproductive Health Indicators Australia 2002, written by the
AIHW's National Perinatal Statistics Unit at the University of NSW,
was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and
Ageing in response to growing national and global interest and a
need for comprehensive framework in reproductive health.
The report presents a snapshot of Australia's reproductive
health status, by systematically measuring a set of 44 core
reproductive health indicators. It highlights a lack of nationally
available information in almost half of the indicators on
infertility, family planning, pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections.
The findings show that Australia's reproductive health compares
well with other developed countries.
Australia compares well in terms of maternal mortality,
proportion of low birthweight babies, teenage fertility rates,
access to family planning and the incidence of reproductive tract
diseases and cancers.
Other findings in the report include:
- Mortality rate for infants aged less than 1 year was 5.7 deaths
per 1,000 live births. The proportion of low birth weight infants
was 6.7% of all births.
- It is estimated that male infertility affects 1 man in 20 in
Australia.
- Knowledge of HIV prevention practices in the community is very
high.
- Incidence and death rates for cervical cancer have fallen over
the last 10 years, partly due to national cervical screening
programs, while the rates for ovarian cancer have remained
constant.
- The national caesarean rate is 22%, the highest yet recorded.
This is comparable to other developed nations, but above the 15%
figure recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- The quality, breadth and cohesiveness of information available
on reproductive health in Australia should be strengthened.
28 March 2003
Further information: Dr Elizabeth Sullivan,
NPSU, tel. 02 9382 1014
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.