In 2022, among Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers who gave birth in NSW, 34.9% gave birth for the first time, 60.1% of mothers reported between 1 and 4 previous births and 5.0% of mothers had previously given birth to 5 or more babies. In non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers who gave birth in NSW, 44.3% gave birth for the first time, 54.6% reported between 1 and 4 previous births and 1.1% had previously given birth to 5 or more babies. Between 2018 and 2022, among mothers who gave birth in NSW, the distribution of the number of previous pregnancies remained stable for both Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers and non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers. In 2022, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers who gave birth in NSW and had previously given birth to 5 or more babies ranged from 2.7% in the Northern Sydney and Southern NSW Local Health Districts to 9.1% in Southern NSW Local Health District.
Previous pregnancies among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal mothers, NSW 2018–2022
Source: NSW Perinatal Data Collection (SAPHaRI). Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence, NSW Ministry of Health.
Due to under-reporting of Aboriginal mothers to the Perinatal Data Collection, it is likely that the true numbers of mothers and babies are higher than shown. For more information refer to Estimated level of reporting. Table excludes 3,629 mothers where the mother’s Aboriginality was not stated.
