The health of both mothers and babies can have important ongoing implications. In 2021, there were 315,705 babies born to 311,360 mothers in Australia. Explore the characteristics and health of mothers and their babies through interactive data visualisations, and in-depth information and trends on the antenatal period, labour and birth, and outcomes for babies at birth.
This web report also provides information on stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths, including causes, maternal characteristics, timing and investigations.
The data in this report are based on final 2021 data from the National Perinatal Data Collection, the National Maternal Mortality Data Collection, and the National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection.
This year for the first time, Australia's mothers and babies includes a separate article on breastfeeding in Australia, focusing on breastfeeding duration and breastfeeding by state or territory, remoteness area and among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) mothers.
- Cat. no: PER 101
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Birth rate increased after a period of decline (from 56 per 1,000 women in 2020 to 61 per 1,000 in 2021)
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Average maternal age is increasing (from 30.0 years in 2011 to 31.1 in 2021)
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Fewer women are smoking during pregnancy (from 13% in 2011 to 8.7% in 2021)
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There were 9.6 perinatal deaths for every 1,000 births in 2021