Women who identify themselves as Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
A numerical scoring system routinely administered 1 and 5 minutes after birth to evaluate the condition of the baby. The score ranges from 0 to 10 (10 being perfect). It takes account of 5 physical signs, each of which is assigned a component score of 0, 1 or 2: heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, reflexes, and colour.
Artificial rupture of the membranes or use of oxytocic drugs after spontaneous onset of labour.
The newborn infant’s first bare weight in grams.
Birth of the fetus through an abdominal incision. Elective caesarean section: a caesarean section (planned or unplanned) performed before the onset of labour. Emergency caesarean section: a caesarean section performed after the onset of labour, whether or not the onset of labour was spontaneous.
Refers to a woman having given birth. In a multiple pregnancy, 1 confinement will result in more than 1 birth.
Injection of analgesic agent outside the dura mater which covers the spinal canal; includes lumbar, spinal, and epidural anaesthetics.
An incision of the perineum and vagina to enlarge the vulval orifice.
The duration of pregnancy in completed weeks from the first day of the last normal menstrual period. Where accurate information on the date of the last menstrual period is not available, a clinical estimate of gestational age may be obtained from ultrasound during the first half of pregnancy or by examination of the newborn infant. The “best estimate” is used in this report.
The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a baby who, after being born, breathes or shows any evidence of life such as a heartbeat.
The death of a liveborn baby within the first 28 days of life.
The total number of live births and stillbirths of the mother before the pregnancy or birth under consideration.
Body Mass Index is a commonly used measure for monitoring rates of overweight and obesity in populations. The Index is calculated as the ratio of a person’s weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. In the PDC, weight is usually reported at the first antenatal visit comprising comprehensive booking or assessment by a clinician; however, self-reported weight around the time of conception is acceptable if a measured weight is not available. The Perinatal Data Collection does not include information on whether the reported weight was measured or self-reported.
A stillbirth or neonatal death.
The number of perinatal deaths (stillbirths and neonatal deaths) per 1,000 total births in a year (live births and stillbirths combined).
The number of fetuses in utero at 20 weeks gestation that are subsequently born separately. On this basis a pregnancy may be classified as single or multiple.
An infant born before 37 completed weeks gestation.
The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception of at least 20 weeks gestation or 400 grams birthweight who did not, at any time after birth, breathe, or show any evidence of life such as a heartbeat.
Values of height, weight and BMI were excluded if they were outside the 1st and 99th percentile of the United States Centers for Disease Control Growth Charts for girls.1 For mothers aged over 18 years, the BMI score is classified using World Health Organization criteria.2 For mothers aged less than 18 years, modified BMI thresholds are used, as described by Cole et al.3,4 For more information see HealthStats NSW - Estimates of maternal overweight and obesity based on the NSW Perinatal Data Collection.
Infant feeding is reported via 3 tick-box categories: breastfeeding, expressed breast milk and infant formula. More than 1 type of feeding may be reported by ticking multiple boxes. In this report, infant feeding is classified into 3 categories: full breastfeeding, which includes babies who were reported to be breastfed or to be receiving expressed breast milk; partial breastfeeding, which includes babies who were reported to be receiving breast milk and infant formula; and infant formula only (no breastfeeding).
The category labour–spontaneous with oxytocics–prostaglandins was used where labour was augmented with artificial rupture of membranes as well as oxytocics or prostaglandins.
The maternity service levels for 2021 have been applied to the data in this report. These are explained in the NSW Health Guide to the Role Delineation of Clinical Services (2019), which provides a consistent language for describing clinical services delivered by public hospitals and health services.5 This guide delineates the level of clinical services, not hospitals or health facilities as a whole.
The GL2016_018 NSW Maternity and Neonatal Service Capability Framework is used to guide services by identifying the scope of planned activity for each service capability level.6 It provides a mechanism for local health districts to assess the planned service capability of their facilities.
For further information on role delineation levels for individual sites, please contact the relevant local health district.
With the exception of Maternal and perinatal deaths, perinatal deaths in this report include deaths reported to the Perinatal Data Collaction only. As the Perinatal Data Collection record is completed at discharge or transfer of the baby, deaths occurring after this time may not be reported to the Perinatal Data Collection. Birth and perinatal death registration data held by the Australian Bureau of Statistics give the most complete overall ascertainment of perinatal deaths for calculation of rates.
The mother’s usual residence was the basis for coding to statistical areas of residence and NSW local health districts.
The “vaginal breech” category covers all forms of vaginal breech birth, including forceps to the after-coming head.
