Aboriginal mothers and children
Aboriginal mothers are younger and rarely give birth in private hospitals. Their babies are likely to be born prematurely and have low birth weight.
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- Factor by which the number of babies of Aboriginal mothers are more likely to be of low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams) compared to those of non-Aboriginal mothers.
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- Factor by which Aboriginal women are more likely to give premature birth than other Australian mothers [7].
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- Times Aboriginal babies are more likely to have renal problems than other babies [7].
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- Factor by which the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) for Aboriginal babies is greater than for non-Indigenous babies [1]. SIDS declined steadily since 1980 for non-Aboriginal mothers, but remained the same for Aboriginal mothers [2].
Statistics
Aboriginal mothers on average are 24.8 years old when they give birth to their first child.
Photo: k-girl, Flickr
Here are a few statistics from the Indigenous Mothers and their Babies 2001-2004 report [3].
- The foetal death rate of Aboriginal babies declined from 1.6% in 1991 to 1.1% in 2004. But the rate was still still double that of non-Aboriginal mothers.
- Babies born to Aboriginal mothers were twice as likely to be born prematurely as those to non-Aboriginal mothers.
- 13% of babies born to Indigenous women were of low birth weight. Only 6% of non-Aboriginal babies were of low birth weight. Low birth weight is a key indicator of health status.
- On average, Aboriginal mothers were 24.8 years old which is younger than non-Aboriginal women.
- Numbers of Aboriginal teenage mothers decreased from 10% in 1991 to 8% in 2004.
- Only 3% of Aboriginal mothers gave birth in private hospitals, compared to 32% of non-Aboriginal mothers.
- Aboriginal mothers are 3 times more likely to have smoked during pregnancy as non-Aboriginal mothers.
Fact In the 1950/60s at the Echuca Hospital, Victoria, Aboriginal women in labour were placed on the veranda to give birth, not inside the wards [4].
Aboriginal children at risk of emotional difficulties
In 2006 Dr Helen Milroy of the Palyku people of Pilbara, Western Australia, was Australia's only Aboriginal psychiatrist. Her research found 24% of Aboriginal children aged 14-17 were at high risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties compared with 15% in the non-Aboriginal population [5].
Children exposed to high stress events such as illness, family break-up, arrests or financial difficulties are most likely to be in this group. More than 1 in 5 children lived in families where there had been seven or more such high stress events in the preceding 12 months.
About 12% of these children were being looked after by a parent who had been forcibly removed from their natural family (Stolen Generations). 33% of these children were in the care of a sole parent.
More Aboriginal kids in child care
Statistics show that more than 37% of children in state care in Queensland are Aboriginal while just 7% of people aged under 17 years are Aboriginal in that state [6].
Experts say that the major causes are "poverty, poor housing, poor health care, poor educational and employment opportunities" [6]. These factors are also more significant than race when child protection systems determine if children should be taken into care.
Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] 'Message delivered', Koori Mail 463 p.15
[2] 'SIDS campaign aims to educate parents', Koori Mail 407 p.29
[3] www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442468038
[4] 'Aunty Melva: A non-stop worker for her people', Koori Mail 408 p.37
[5] Koori Mail 385, p.13
[6] 'Re-think call over child protection', Koori Mail 513 p.39
[7] 'Study is first of its kind', Koori Mail 517 p.48