Overview

A newborn baby's health can be a key determinant of their health and wellbeing throughout life. Factors such as physical health, social wellbeing and exposure to harmful behaviours can influence health outcomes for both mothers and babies.

More reports and statistics on mothers & babies can be found under Children & youth and Men & women.

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Latest findings

6.6% of liveborn babies were low birthweight in 2019

In 2019, there were 17 maternal deaths, or 6 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth

In 2019, 298,567 women gave birth to 303,054 babies

1 in 4 women giving birth in 2019 were aged 35 or over

One in 8 (13%) babies of mothers aged 40 and over were pre-term, compared with 8.2% of babies born to mothers aged 20–34

More than half (55%) of mothers aged 40 and over gave birth by caesarean section

Highlights

30.8 yearsis the average age of women who gave birth in 2019
1 in 8mothers had a second birth vaginally after having their first birth by caesarean section
6 babies are stillborn and 2 die within 28 days of birth (neonatal death) every day in Australia
Congenital anomaliesare the most common cause of perinatal death
1 in every 31 babies were born with a congenital anomaly in 2016
9.3% of mothers smoked during pregnancy in 2019 compared with 13.7% in 2010
8.6% of babies were born pre-term in 2019
Over 800  Over 800 maternity models of care are in use across Australia and these fall into 11 major model categories
17 maternal deaths occurred in 2019 or 6 maternal deaths per 100,000 women giving birth