Preliminary perinatal deaths, 2022
Content warning: This content contains information some readers may find distressing as it relates to stillbirth and the loss of a newborn.
The data presented in this section are from the National Perinatal Data Collection, and are preliminary data only. Neonatal deaths may not be included for babies transferred to another hospital, re-admitted to hospital after discharge or who died at home after discharge. The AIHW has established a separate National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection to obtain complete information on perinatal deaths. The latest data from this collection is presented on the subsequent pages of this chapter.
Refer to the Data source: National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection for information on definitions of perinatal mortality.
Preliminary data for 2022 indicates a perinatal death rate of 10.2 deaths per 1,000 births and a stillbirth rate of 7.9 per 1,000 births.
While there has been no consistent trend over the period from 2003, between 2010 and 2015 the stillbirth rate appeared to decline. Since 2015 it has fluctuated, with an unusually low rate in 2016 of 6.7 per 1,000 births and then unusually high rates in 2020 and in the preliminary data for 2022 (7.7 and 7.9 per 1,000 births respectively).
Due to the small number of stillbirths that occur in a year, small variations in the number of stillbirths can lead to large fluctuations in the stillbirth rate. Some of the fluctuation since 2015 has coincided with key events, such as the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 bushfires, and fluctuations in the underlying birth rate. Some of the increase in 2022 is the result of known improvements in data availability. As a result, care should be taken when interpreting this trend data.
The AIHW is working with the jurisdictions to investigate these trends and clarify the drivers for these changes. These trends in perinatal mortality rates will be explored once finalised 2022 data is available from the National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection.
The rate of neonatal death in 2022 was 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. In contrast to stillbirths, rates of neonatal mortality have remained stable in recent years, with the rate in 2022 remaining unchanged from 2021 and 2020. The rate of neonatal death has ranged between 2.2 and 2.9 deaths per 1,000 live births over the period from 2010 to 2022.
For more preliminary information on perinatal deaths see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data table 4.1 and National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data visualisations table 4.8.
Figure 1 presents data on stillbirths and neonatal mortality rates for state and territory of birth and state and territory of mother’s usual residence, for 2022. Select the trend button to see how data has changed over a 13-year period (where available).
Figure 1: Perinatal mortality rates, by selected topic
Bar chart shows perinatal mortality rates by selected topics and a line graph shows topic trends between 2010 and 2021.
