Summary

The majority of babies born to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers have a healthy birthweight. A small minority are born preterm or have low birthweight, however, these babies have a higher risk of dying before they are 28 days old.

Preterm birth and low birthweight are two important risk factors associated with perinatal death among babies born to Indigenous women. 

Risk factors associated with perinatal death

Perinatal deaths are deaths occurring during the perinatal period; they comprise stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

Among babies born to Indigenous women:

  • the risk of perinatal death among low birthweight babies was nearly 11 times the risk among babies who were not low birthweight
  • the risk of perinatal death among preterm babies was more than 8 times the risk among non-preterm babies
  • Some of the maternal factors associated with perinatal death included antepartum haemorrhage, having no antenatal care, and pre-existing diabetes.

Stillbirth

Among babies born to Indigenous women:

  • low birthweight babies were more likely to be stillborn than babies who were not low birthweight (9.2 times).
  • preterm babies were more likely to be stillborn than babies who were not preterm (6.8 times).
  • some of the maternal factors associated with stillbirth included antepartum haemorrhage, pre-existing diabetes, young maternal age, non-attendance or late attendance at first antenatal care and residence in a remote location.

Neonatal death

Among babies born to Indigenous women:

  • the risk of neonatal death among low birthweight babies was 13.5 times as high as the risk of neonatal death among babies who were not low birthweight.
  • the risk of neonatal death among preterm babies was 12.7 times as high as the risk of neonatal death among babies who were not preterm
  • some of the maternal risk factors for neonatal death included chronic hypertension and antepartum haemorrhage.

Comparison with non-Indigenous mothers

As with babies born to Indigenous mothers, pre-term birth and low birthweight were also strongly associated with perinatal death (stillbirth and neonatal death) among babies born to non-Indigenous women.