Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and babies

Although a range of data by Indigenous status has been presented in other sections, this section provides more in-depth information on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (respectfully hereafter Indigenous) mothers, babies born to Indigenous mothers and Indigenous babies.

Indigenous mothers

In 2020, Indigenous mothers accounted for 4.9% (14,384) of women who gave birth.

The data visualisation below presents data for Indigenous women who gave birth, by selected maternal characteristics over an 11-year period (where available).

The figure shows a line graph of trends in proportion of Indigenous mothers by a range of topics  between 2012 and 2020. In 2020, 4.9% of women who gave birth were Indigenous.

There have been improvements in outcomes for Indigenous mothers in recent years, with:

  • a notable increase in the proportion of Indigenous mothers attending an antenatal visit in the first trimester (from 49% in 2012 to 70% in 2020)
  • an increase in the proportion of Indigenous mothers attending 5 or more antenatal visits (from 77% in 2012 to 88% in 2020)
  • a decrease in the proportion of Indigenous mothers who reported smoking in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (from 48% in 2011 to 41% in 2020) and after 20 weeks of pregnancy (from 42% in 2011 to 37% in 2020).

The proportion of Indigenous mothers who report smoking at any time during pregnancy has also fallen (from 49% in 2010 to 43% in 2020), and of those who smoked, the rate of smoking cessation during pregnancy was around 1 in 10. This is based on Indigenous mothers who reported smoking in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and not smoking after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The proportion of Indigenous teenage mothers (aged under 20) who gave birth has been gradually decreasing from 20% in 2010 to 11% in 2020.

Around 3 in 5 (60%) Indigenous mothers had a non-instrumental vaginal birth, and fewer than 1 in 3 (32%) gave birth by caesarean section. Most Indigenous mothers had 5 or more antenatal visits (almost 9 in 10 or 88%).

Babies of Indigenous mothers

In 2020, babies born to Indigenous mothers accounted for 4.9% (14,605) of all births.

The data visualisation below presents data for babies of Indigenous mothers, by selected maternal and baby characteristics over an 11-year period (where available).

The figure shows a line graph of trends in the proportion of babies of Indigenous mothers by a range of topics including active resuscitation method, birthweight and gestational age between 2010 and 2020. In 2020, 4.9% of babies were born to Indigenous mothers.

Most babies of Indigenous mothers were born at term (born from 37 to 41 weeks) and with a normal birthweight (86% and 87% respectively). A high proportion of babies of Indigenous mothers had a normal birthweight adjusted for gestational age (77%), with 13% of babies born to Indigenous mothers being small for gestational age.

In 2020, 87% of babies of Indigenous mothers had a normal birthweight (birthweight between 2,500 and 4,499 grams; also referred to as 'healthy birthweight'). Increasing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies with a healthy birthweight to 91% by 2031, is one of the targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Almost all babies (97%) had an Apgar score of 7–10 at 5 minutes after birth, indicating that they have adapted well post-birth.

Babies of Indigenous mothers most commonly had a hospital stay of 2–3 days (43%), with 27% having a stay of 1 day and 11% having a stay of 6 days or more.

Indigenous babies

Indigenous babies are those whose mother or father (or both parents) are Indigenous. In 2020, Indigenous babies accounted for 6.2% (18,228) of all births.

The data visualisation below presents data for Indigenous babies, by selected maternal and baby characteristics over an 8-year period.

The figure shows a line graph of trends in the proportion of Indigenous babies by a range of topics including active resuscitation method, birthweight and gestational age between 2013 and 2020. In 2020, 6.2% of babies were Indigenous.

The outcomes for Indigenous babies and babies of Indigenous mothers are very similar.

Remoteness area

Remoteness area can influence several key statistics for Indigenous mothers and babies. For example, Indigenous mothers who live in Very remote areas are more likely to smoke. These and other statistics can be explored in the data visualisation below.

The figure shows a bar graph of proportions of Indigenous mothers and babies of Indigenous mothers by remoteness area for the topics of antenatal care, smoking status and low birthweight for 2020.

It is important to note that despite improvements, Indigenous mothers and babies continue to experience poorer health outcomes than non-Indigenous mothers and babies in some areas, and that there are complex interactions between maternal and perinatal health outcomes and the determinants of health, including both social determinants and health risk factors.

For more information on Indigenous babies and babies born to Indigenous mothers see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data tables 3.4 and 3.12.