Australia's birth rate drops, with caesareans and older mums on the rise
Australia's birth rate has fallen substantially in the past decade, according to the latest data from the federal government's Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
In 2010, 64 women out of every 1000 aged between 15 and 44 gave birth that year. In 2020, that number has dropped to 56.
In 2020, there were 295,796 babies born to 291,712 mothers, meaning there were more deaths than births in the country.
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Australians are giving birth to fewer babies, the latest data has shown. Craig Sillitoe
But so long as Australia keeps taking in migrants, the population will not go into decline, University of Melbourne professor of demography Peter McDonald told nine.com.au.
"That more than accounts for the low birth rate," he said.
"The replacement level for birth is roughly two births for women. We're about 1.5."
Mothers are also getting older.
The average age of mothers giving birth has risen from 30.0 years to 30.9 years.
The average age of first-time mothers is 29.6 years, up more than a year from the previous decade.
One of the biggest influences on that figure is the decline in teenage pregnancy.
In 2010, 3.8 per cent of pregnancies were from teenagers.
In 2020, it was less than half that.
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Australia's birth rate has fallen substantially in the past few years. Peter Silitoe
"Teenage fertility is almost disappearing in Australia, which is a good thing," McDonald said.
"Teenagers are making better use of contraception and not getting pregnant."
The number of women giving birth older than 40 has also risen.
More than one in three mothers are getting caesarean births.
In 2020, 37 per cent of mothers gave birth by caesarean.
In 2010, that number was 32 per cent.
Mothers over 40 are substantially more likely to have a caesarean birth.
In 2020, only 41 per cent of mothers had a spontaneous labour.
One in three had an induced labour, and 23 per cent had no labour.
Spontaneous labours have dropped from 56 per cent in 2010.
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More babies are born en route to the hospital than at home. Nine
A stable or growing population is necessary for a functioning society, McDonald said.
"Suppose we had no migrants. Then the birth rate is low, and so the population starts to fall fairly quickly," he said.
"When the population falls, it falls at the young ages.
"We get an older and older population. So that's the main issue."
Maternal health has improved in the past decade, with fewer women smoking while pregnant.
"More than nine in 10 of the almost 296,000 babies born in Australia during 2020 were born at term and at a healthy birthweight," AIHW spokesperson Deanna Eldridge said.
"The proportion of mothers accessing antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy has steadily increased over time from 63 per cent in 2012 to 79 per cent in 2020."
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About three per cent of babies born are twins. Dallas Kilponen
There has not been a substantial change to maternal mortality, with the number of women dying giving birth fluctuating from year to year.
Fewer than eight women out of every 100,000 die as a direct or indirect result of pregnancy and labour.
Stillbirth and neonatal death rates have remained stable over the past ten years.
Ninety-six per cent of births take place in hospitals, with three in four in a public hospital.
Nearly three per cent gave birth in birth centres, and 0.4 per cent gave birth at home.
About 0.7 per cent gave birth elsewhere, such as on their way to the hospital.
Nearly three per cent of births were multiple births, of which nearly all were twins.
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