A number of factors influence a baby’s length of stay in hospital, including birthweight and gestational age: babies who had a low birthweight or who were born pre-term (both 3 in 5) were much more likely to stay in hospital for 6 days or more, compared with term babies (1 in 25) and normal birthweight babies (1 in 20).
Babies who stayed in hospital for 6 or more days were more likely to be:
- Indigenous
- born to Indigenous mothers
- born in a private hospital
- born to mothers aged 40 or older
- born to mothers who smoked
- born by caesarean section
- low birthweight
- born pre-term
- part of a multiple birth
- born to mothers from Very remote areas
- babies who had an Apgar score of less than 7, indicating that they have not adapted well post-birth.
It is important to note that many of these factors are potentially interrelated, for example, older mothers are more likely to give birth in private hospitals.