Photo by Sarah Fowler
Australian Homebirth Statistics
The latest Australia's Mothers and Babies Report, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on the 24th of September 2024, includes place of birth data from 2010 to 2022. We have compiled the data into graphs and included our interpretation of the data and how it compares to anecdotal data we receive from women and midwives.
These reports are not entirely accurate, as each state gathers and reports data differently and sometimes data is not provided for some states. For the below charts showing homebirth statistics for 2010-2022, no data was provided for the ACT in 2013-2016, WA in 2013, NSW in 2014 and TAS in 2015-2016.
The following graphs demonstrate the rise in popularity with homebirth in Australia. A homebirth is defined as a baby being born at home with a qualified midwife in attendance. Freebirths, whether deliberate or accidental (i.e. Born Before Arrival to hospital) are categorised as 'other'.
297,725 babies were born in Australia in 2022. Of those babies, 1,787 were born at home with a midwife in attendance.
The latest Australia's Mothers and Babies Report, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on the 24th of September 2024, includes place of birth data from 2010 to 2022. We have compiled the data into graphs and included our interpretation of the data and how it compares to anecdotal data we receive from women and midwives.
These reports are not entirely accurate, as each state gathers and reports data differently and sometimes data is not provided for some states. For the below charts showing homebirth statistics for 2010-2022, no data was provided for the ACT in 2013-2016, WA in 2013, NSW in 2014 and TAS in 2015-2016.
The following graphs demonstrate the rise in popularity with homebirth in Australia. A homebirth is defined as a baby being born at home with a qualified midwife in attendance. Freebirths, whether deliberate or accidental (i.e. Born Before Arrival to hospital) are categorised as 'other'.
297,725 babies were born in Australia in 2022. Of those babies, 1,787 were born at home with a midwife in attendance.
Hospital birth is by far the predominant place of birth in Australia, with 96.9% of total births in 2022. Birth centre births totaled 1.6%, homebirths 0.6% and 'other' 0.9%.
'Other' place of birth includes births that occur at a home other than that intended (unplanned home births); home births that are planned to occur without a midwife or other medical professional in attendance (free births); births at a community health centre or babies born before arrival at hospital.
It is interesting to note the increase in 'other' births, particularly when they began to overtake planned homebirths. This is likely due to a combination of factors: an increase in women choosing to freebirth, an increase in women wanting to homebirth but are unable to access a PPM and an increase in babies born before arrival to hospital due to the closure of rural maternity units. Unfortunately, this category of place of birth is not further broken down for analysis.
It is interesting to note the increase in 'other' births, particularly when they began to overtake planned homebirths. This is likely due to a combination of factors: an increase in women choosing to freebirth, an increase in women wanting to homebirth but are unable to access a PPM and an increase in babies born before arrival to hospital due to the closure of rural maternity units. Unfortunately, this category of place of birth is not further broken down for analysis.
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The majority of women who had a homebirth in Australia in 2022 were aged between 30 and 34 years.
The average gestational age of babies born at home in 2019, 2020 and 2021 was 40 weeks (compared to an average of 38 weeks in hospital and 39 weeks in birth centres).
The following graph shows the parity (number of previous children) of women as a % of the total births in Australia at home, hospital and birth centres from 2010-2022.
There is a clear rise in the number of first time mothers giving birth at home from the onset of COVID in 2020, perhaps due to the restrictions placed on birthing in hospitals.
There is a clear rise in the number of first time mothers giving birth at home from the onset of COVID in 2020, perhaps due to the restrictions placed on birthing in hospitals.
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According to AIHW data for the past 12 years, most homebirths took place in inner regional areas.
It is probable that not all homebirths are reported to the perinatal data collections.
Source: Australia's Mothers and Babies Report
Page updated: 28th September 2024
Source: Australia's Mothers and Babies Report
Page updated: 28th September 2024
