Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies summary
In 2020, 6.2% (18,228) of babies were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (based on the Indigenous status of the baby – where either the mother or the father, or both parents, identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), and of these, more than 1 in 4 (27%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies were born to a non-Indigenous mother.
It is important to consider the outcomes for babies based on the Indigenous status of both the mother (babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers) and the baby (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies), otherwise the birth outcomes of a substantial proportion of the Indigenous birth cohort would not be considered. While the outcomes for babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies are very similar, there are some differences.
The infographic below presents a high-level summary of findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies. Detailed data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies are available as an option to select in the data visualisations in the Outcomes for babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers chapters and in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and babies data tables.
3.1% of Indigenous babies were a part of a multiple birth
Almost 9 in 10 Indigenous babies were born at term
87% of Indigenous babies were of healthy birthweight
Just over 7 in 10 Indigenous babies were a normal size for gestational age
78 per 100 liveborn Indigenous babies did not require active resuscitation
7 in 10 Indigenous babies had a hospital stay of 1-3 days