International Data
Euro-Peristat Reports
EUROPEAN PERINATAL HEALTH REPORT 2015 (November, 2018)
Title: Euro-Peristat Project. European Perinatal Health Report. Core indicators of the health and care of pregnant women and babies in Europe in 2015.
November 2018. Available www.europeristat.com
Read the complete report for more fascinating statistics about these discrepancies, as well as country-specific data.
Global
Global Overuse and Underuse of Cesarean Delivery: WHO report
This unique report attempts to quantify the numbers and costs of both overuse and under use of cesarean delivery worldwide. The authors gathered data about 95% of births in 2008 (reflecting data from 137 countries). Highlights include:
- They use a guideline that <10% cesarean deliveries reflects underuse, or too few cesareans, and >15% cesarean deliveries reflects overuse, or too many cesareans. For more information about these choices, see the report itself.
- Using those guidelines, they then determine that each year, there are about 18.5 million cesarean sections overall. About 6.2 million of these are instances of overuse. On the contrary, in resource-poor countries, 3.2 million more cesarean sections are needed.
- The authors also calculate the extra costs of too many cesareans, and how much it would cost to provide enough cesareans, using cost data specific to each country. They estimate that the total extra costs of the ‘unnecessary’ cesareans is about $2.32 billion. On the contrary, to provide enough cesareans in countries with underuse would only cost $432 million.
Read the complete report for more fascinating statistics about these discrepancies, as well as country-specific data.
Canada
Canadian Childbirth Snapshot 2015-2016
This report by Canadian Institute for Health Information explores the Canadian Childbirth Snapshot for 2015 to 2016. Highlights include:
- The rate of babies born in Canadian hospitals has been declining over the last several years. The rate was 104 per 10,000 population in 2015-2016, which is down from 112 per 10,000 population in 2009-2010.
- 7.6% of babies born preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation) in Canadian Hospitals and 9.1% of singleton babies born at small for gestation age in 2015-2016. Since 2006, these rates have remained relatively stable.
- The primary c-section rates remained higher for women 35 years and older and epidural rates remained high in Canada.
To find out more, click here for the full report.
Mothers’ Experiences in Canada: What Mothers Say
This survey conducted in Canada on What Mothers Say: The Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey. What Mothers Say: The Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey is a national survey of Canadian women’s experiences, perceptions, knowledge, and practices before conception and during pregnancy, birth, the postpartum period, and the early months of parenthood.
- Interviews were conducted with 6,421 women who gave birth in Canada in Spring 2006.
- Given the quality of the sampling methodology, the large sample size and the breadth of the survey, this is a great resource for understanding Canadian birth from a mother’s perspective.
To find out more about the survey, click here for the full report.
Europe
European Perinatal Health Report
Published in 2013 with 2010 data, the European Perinatal Health Report (2010) presents perinatal health indicator data from national and regional perinatal health information systems in 29 countries of the European Union. Data included focus on pregnancy, labor and delivery, the early postpartum period, and perinatal health outcomes, including very low birth weight, cerebral palsy, and congenital anomalies. Additionally, the report explains issues, challenges, and recommendations for data collection and analysis tied to a complex multi-country data project such as EURO-PERISTAT. e for most countries. In 2010, the percentage of low birthweight babies ranged from under 4% to over 9% throughout Europe.
To find out more, click here for the full report.
Also, available is the 2008 report that was published using 2004 data from 26 EU countries: European Perinatal Health Report (2004).
So you want to have access to Birth Data from Europe?
EuroPeristat provides the links to each European country site’s for most recent National Perinatal Health Report. Check out the EuroPeristat for access to the most recent National Perinatal Health Reports for the European countries here.
England
Mothers’ Experiences in England: Delivered with Care
This survey conducted in England in 2010 on Mother’s Experience of Maternity Care: Delivered with care.
- Delivered with Care is a survey of mothers drawn from a random sample of 5,333 women giving birth in England over a two week period in 2010 who were selected by the Office for National Statistics from birth registration records.
- The survey asked mothers questions on care in pregnancy, during labor and birth and in the postnatal period.
- This is a rich source of information on the experiences of English mothers, with many questions comparable to surveys from the US and other countries.
To find out more about the survey, click here for the full report.
Australia
Australia's Mothers and Babies 2015
This report by the Australian Government explores Australia’s mothers and babies. Highlights include:
- About 13% more women gave birth since 2005.
- The mean age of mothers are giving birth later in life. In 2015, the average age for mothers who gave birth was 30.3 years and 29.7 years in 2005.
- In 2015, two-thirds of mothers had a vaginal birth, while one-third of mothers had cesareans.
- The rate of cesarean sections has increased over time. Since 2005, the cesarean section rate has increased by 3%.
To find out more, click here for the full report.
Also, available is the Australia’s Mothers and Babies 2013 and Australia’s Mothers and Babies 2007.
New Zealand
New Zealand Report on Maternity 2015
This report by the New Zealand Government explores mothers who gave birth and the babies who were born in New Zealand in 2015. Highlights include:
- In 2015, New Zealand had the lowest birth rate since 2006, which is 63.6 per 1000 females of reproductive age.
- There was an increase in birth rates for older women, while younger women had a decrease in birth rates.
- Mothers aged 25 years and over, Māori and European women, and mothers residing in West Coast and Northland DHB region were more commonly to have home births.
- About two-thirds of mothers had a spontaneous vaginal delivery, one-fourth had cesarean delivery, and the remaining had an assisted vaginal delivery.
- In 2015, rates of elective cesarean sections has increased. Cesareans sections were more likely to occur in mothers aged 35 years and older, Indian and other Asian women, and European women, and mothers in the least deprived neighborhoods.
To find out more, click here for the full report.
Also, available is New Zealand Report on Maternity 2014 and New Zealand Maternity Clinical Indicators 2009 report.
New Zealand Maternity Consumer Survey 2011
The Maternity Consumer Survey 2011 draws on the experiences of over 3,000 women residing in New Zealand, to capture their perceptions of maternity care services in their country. This report was published in March 2012.
- While similar satisfaction surveys were conducted previously in 1999, 2002, and 2007, this latest survey is the first one to include women who experienced a perinatal loss.
- About 78% of mothers were satisfied with the overall maternity care they received. But, women with disabilities satisfaction was significantly lower than all women.
To find out more, click here for the full report. More information and documents can be found at the report homepage.
Talks from Dr. Gene Declercq
