CHILDREN AT BIRTH

Premature births

Of 26,000 Aboriginal children under the age of 18 years, 13% were born prematurely (less than 37 weeks gestation). This is significantly higher than the prevalence of premature births in the general population (8%).

Low birth weight babies

The average birth weight of Western Australian Aboriginal babies was estimated to be 3,170 grams, with 11% being of low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams) compared with 7% for the general population. Premature birth and poor intrauterine growth are two causes of low birth weight. Around 21% of infants were considered to have poor intrauterine growth compared with 13% of births in the total population.

Infants of teenage mothers

An estimated 11% of Aboriginal infants were born to mothers aged 17 years or less compared with 2% of infants in the total population. This is a significant cause for concern since early pregnancy imposes substantial risks to the infant and in very young mothers impairs her own growth and interrupts her schooling. Also, mothers delivering before they turned 18 were less likely to be caring for their children, particularly mothers under 16 years of age of whom 26% were not caring for their 0 to 3 year–olds at the time of the survey.

 Proportion of carers who are not the natural mothers, by age of child and age of their natural mother

Substance use by mother during pregnancy

Aboriginal mothers often have multiple risk factors which contribute to low birth weight and impaired growth of their babies. Among these factors are tobacco use, alcohol consumption and drug use during pregnancy.

Mothers of 23% of infants had drunk alcohol during their pregnancy. These rates are consistent across all ICC regions and all levels of relative isolation. An increased incidence of low birth weight was seen among births to women who drank alcohol, suggesting that a proportion drank excess alcohol. There needs to be a concerted effort to reduce the incidence of heavy drinking during pregnancy.

The mothers of 46% of Aboriginal children reported smoking tobacco during pregnancy. In comparison, 22% of infants were born to mothers in the general population who had smoked during pregnancy. The mothers of almost half (49%) of the children had used tobacco (smoked or chewed) whilst pregnant.

Mothers of 9% of children reported having used marijuana during pregnancy, its use declining with increased level of isolation: from 11% in the Perth metropolitan area to 2% in areas of extreme isolation.

Infants born to mothers who reported using tobacco during their pregnancy had a significantly lower average birth weight (3,110 grams) than infants born to mothers not using tobacco during pregnancy (3,310 grams). Average birth weights were lowest for infants of those mothers who used marijuana either with tobacco (3,000 grams) or with both tobacco and alcohol (2,940 grams).

Average birth weight – Substance use by mother during pregnancy