Comparison of births to Aboriginal and Caucasian mothers in Western Australia

Live births and stillbirths to Aboriginal and Caucasian mothers in the period from 1975 to 1978 were studied, using the Western Australian Midwives Notification of Birth forms, Perinatal Death Certificates and Hospital Morbidity data. Aboriginal mothers were younger, shorter, had higher fertility, and were more likely to be grand multiparae than Caucasian mothers. Aboriginal infants were lighter and shorter than Caucasian infants. The adverse birthweight distribution of Aboriginal infants (13% weighed less than or equal to 2500 grams) accounted for the major part of the excess in the Aboriginal perinatal mortality rate, which was double that for Caucasians. The Aboriginal stillbirth rate appeared to be falling, while neonatal mortality remained high. Health services' preventive programmes, aimed at correction of the adverse birthweight distribution in the Aboriginal population, would be a major step towards the reduction of perinatal mortality in this group.