Notes on the data: Aboriginal mothers and babies

Aboriginal women who gave birth and did not have an antenatal visit in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, 2017 to 2019

Policy context: Antenatal care is associated with positive child and maternal health outcomes, with regular antenatal care visits in the first trimester (before 14 weeks’ gestational age), leading to fewer interventions in late pregnancy and positive outcomes for child health [1]. The Australian Antenatal Guidelines recommend that the first antenatal visit occur within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and that first-time mothers with an uncomplicated pregnancy attend 10 visits [2]. Although almost all mothers (99.9%) who gave birth in 2015 had at least one antenatal visit, fewer than half (47%) of mothers did so in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and 10% did not start antenatal care until after 20 weeks’ gestation [1].

In 2018, the age-standardised proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women attending antenatal care in the first trimester was 61%, a substantial increase from 2010, when it was 41% [3]. A lower proportion (65%) of Indigenous mothers had received antenatal care in the first trimester, compared with 73% of non-Indigenous mothers [3].

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018. Australia’s health 2018. Australia’s health series no. 16, 4.12 Antenatal risk factors.
AHMAC 2012. Quoted in AIHW, Australia’s health 2018, 4.12 Antenatal risk factors.
AIHW. Tracking progress against the Implementation Plan goals for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023. Available from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-health-welfare/tracking-progress-against-ipg-2013-2023/contents/maternal-health-and-parenting-domain/goal-1-antenatal-care-first-trimester; last accessed 23 December 2020

Notes: Note that as the data are aggregated over three years, they may include women who were gave birth more than once during the time period. Data for many remote areas, particularly in Western Australia and Northern Territory, should be treated with caution as the quality of the population correspondence provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is rated as ‘Poor’.

Geography: Data available by Indigenous Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic outcomes (based on IRSEO) and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Aboriginal women who did not have an antenatal visit in the first ten weeks of pregnancy (data over 3 years)

Denominator: Number of Aboriginal women who gave birth (data over 3 years)

Detail of analysis: Per cent

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, on behalf of the States and Territories.