Perinatal outcome in Western Australia, 1968 to 1975: 2. social and biological determinants
Stanley, F.J.; Hobbs, M.S.
Medical Journal of Australia 1(8): 414-416
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-729X PMID: 7254088 Document Number: 179223
Trends in perinatal mortality and low birthweight (percentage of livebirths < 2500 g) were analyzed in relation to certain social and biological variables. Mothers at high risk of adverse perinatal outcome in terms of perinatal mortality and low birthweight were very young and grand multiparous mothers, old primiparas, unmarried mothers, those with multiple pregnancies and mothers born in Asia. The marked changes in the maternal age and parity distributions of all births had little effect on adverse perinatal outcomes. European migrant mothers initially (1968-1971) were at high risk, but have shown more rapid improvement in outcome than any other group and were more recently (1972-1975) at lowest risk.