Indigenous Birth Outcomes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States - an Overview~!2010-01-14~!2010-04-16~!2010-07-06~!

Abstract

Objective-To review Indigenous infant mortality, stillbirth, birth weight, and preterm birth outcomes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.Methods-Systematic searches of published literature and a review and assessment of existing perinatal surveillance systems were undertaken. Where possible, within country comparisons of Indigenous to non-Indigenous birth outcomes are included.Results-Indigenous/non-Indigenous infant mortality rate ratios range from 1.6 to 4.0. Stillbirth rates, where data are available, are also uniformly higher for Indigenous people. In all four countries, the disparities in Indigenous/non-Indigenous infant mortality rate ratios are most marked in the post-neonatal period. With few exceptions, the rates of leading causes of infant mortality are higher among Indigenous infants than non-Indigenous infants within all four countries. In most cases, rates of small for gestational age and preterm birth were also elevated for Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous infants.Conclusions-There are significant disparities in Indigenous/non-Indigenous birth outcomes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. These Indigenous/non-Indigenous birth outcome disparities fit the criteria for health inequities, as they are not only unnecessary and avoidable, but also unfair and unjust. KeywordsIndigenous; birth outcomes; infant mortality; stillbirth; birth weight; and preterm birth; Canada; Australia; New Zealand; United StatesThis is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

Why Australia needs a Medical Research Future Fund

“…For Inuit, excess mortality is observed for all major causes of infant death compared to the rest of Canada; the Maori SIDS rate was 1.4 per 1,000 live births, significantly higher than the non-Maori rate; and a 40% reduction in the infant mortality rate would be achieved if the gap in American Indian infant mortality for SIDS and low birthweight was closed (Smylie et al 2010).…”

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Back to the basics: Identifying and addressing underlying challenges in achieving high quality and relevant health statistics for Indigenous populations in Canada

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“…Access to health services for urgent health conditions is vital for minimising morbidity and mortality, yet many Indigenous people in Canada commonly encounter difficulties accessing health services. Indigenous infants experience higher rates of mortality and admission to hospital than non‐Indigenous infants, and therefore, effective access and use of acute care services (ACS) is an important way to improve their health outcomes (Heaman et al., ; Luo et al., ; Smith, Edwards, Varcoe, Martens, & Davies, ; Smylie, Crengle, Freemantle, & Taualii, ).…”

“…Indigenous infants experience higher rates of mortality and admission to hospital than non-Indigenous infants, and therefore, effective access and use of acute care services (ACS) is an important way to improve their health outcomes (Heaman et al, 2010;Luo et al, 2010;Smith, Edwards, Varcoe, Martens, & Davies, 2006;Smylie, Crengle, Freemantle, & Taualii, 2010).…”