Fed: Canberra mums getting older

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2007
Fed: Canberra mums getting older

By Kate Corbett

CANBERRA, Dec 31 AAP - Teenage mothers are almost unheard of in Canberra where many
women are holding off child birth until they are well over 30, a new report shows.

The average age of women who gave birth in the ACT rose to 30.5 years in 2004, up from
28.6 years in 1991.

Teenage mums accounted for just 2.8 per cent of all births in the ACT in 2004, almost
half the national average.

ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher said the report - Maternal and Perinatal Health
in the ACT 2000-2004 - released today, showed Canberra women were increasingly delaying
starting a family with 2004 fertility rates peaking among women aged 30 to 34 years.

"This is a significant change from the 1995 peak which occurred in the 25 to 29 years
age group," Ms Gallagher said in a statement.

"ACT women aged 35 years and over were also more likely than women in the rest of Australia
to give birth for the first time."

In 2004, there were 4,926 babies born in the ACT to 4,799 mothers.

That was a rise of 2.5 per cent over four years, a trend mirrored nationally.

Just over half of the babies born were male - 51.9 per cent - following the national trend.

Almost all mothers - 99.5 per cent - gave birth in a hospital or birth centre and 58
per cent had a normal vaginal birth.

About a third had a caesarean section.

"The caesarean section rate was significantly lower for the ACT than for Australia,
with elective caesarean section rates increasing slightly at ACT public and private hospitals
between 2000 and 2004, but remaining significantly lower than the Australian rate," Ms
Gallagher said.

In 2004, the ACT also had the highest percentage of multiple births in Australia, accounting
for 2.6 per cent of all births, compared with 1.7 per cent nationally.

But 2.4 per cent of babies were born with birth defects, with the most common anomalies
being with genital organs, urinary system, cardiovascular system or musculoskeletal system.

There were 33 foetal deaths, 23 neonatal deaths and fewer than five post-neonatal deaths.

AAP kc/rl/jfm/nf

KEYWORD: BABIES

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