Changes in maternal characteristics and risk of perinatal death among babies born to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women in Victoria, Australia: a retrospective cohort study

Sophie KC Nunn; Tanya Farrell; Catherine Chamberlain; Tracey Zakazakaarcher; Euan M Wallace; Miranda L Davies-Tuck; Mary-Ann Davey

doi:10.1016/j.midw.2025.104543

Back

Changes in maternal characteristics and risk of perinatal death among babies born to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women in Victoria, Australia: a retrospective cohort study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Changes in maternal characteristics and risk of perinatal death among babies born to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women in Victoria, Australia: a retrospective cohort study

Sophie KC Nunn, Tanya Farrell, Catherine Chamberlain, Tracey Zakazakaarcher, Euan M Wallace, Miranda L Davies-Tuck and Mary-Ann Davey

Midwifery, Vol.149, 104543

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2025.104543

Files and links (1)

pdf

Published858.44 kBDownload View

Published (Version of Record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Perinatal death

Prenatal care

Risk factors

Socio-demographic factors

Problem/Background The long-standing disproportionate risk of perinatal death for babies born to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women reduced in Victoria, Australia from 2008–2016. Identifying the contributing factors to this improvement is crucial to ensuring implementation of effective strategies to continue closing this gap. Aim To explore whether changes in key characteristics among Victorian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women contributed to reduced perinatal death rates. Methods Retrospective population-based cohort study of all births in Victoria from 2000–2019. We calculated relative risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals to determine relationships between maternal characteristics and perinatal death. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression to obtain unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for perinatal death based on maternal Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status. Findings Between 2000–2019 the number of births to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women increased and perinatal death rates decreased from 19.7/1000 births to 10.6 /1000 births. Some risk factors for perinatal death, including age younger than 20 years and rural residence, decreased in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women between 2000 and 2019, from 19.4% to 8.1% and 67.5% to 55.3% respectively (both p-trend<0.001). Other risk factors for perinatal death stagnated or increased including Body Mass Index ≥35, maternal smoking and low socio-economic status. Conclusion Changes in key maternal characteristics may have contributed to improved perinatal death rates among babies of Victorian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women. However, these are unlikely to fully explain observed improvements and several stagnant/increasing risk factors may have hindered further improvements.

Details

Title: Changes in maternal characteristics and risk of perinatal death among babies born to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women in Victoria, Australia: a retrospective cohort study
Authors/Creators: Sophie KC Nunn - Monash University
Tanya Farrell - Women's and Children's Hospital
Catherine Chamberlain - The University of Melbourne
Tracey Zakazakaarcher - Dubbo Hospital
Euan M Wallace - Government of Western Australia Department of Health
Miranda L Davies-Tuck - Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Mary-Ann Davey - Monash University
Publication Details: Midwifery, Vol.149, 104543
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Identifiers: 991005800273307891
Murdoch Affiliation: Ngangk Yira Institute for Change
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Metrics

86 File views/ downloads

14 Record Views