INSTANCES of women smoking during pregnancy have decreased in Western Victoria, however the region still ranks the third highest in the state.
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The revelation comes as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released its new report, entitled Child and Maternal Health 2013–2015.
The report presented findings from Australia’s 31 Primary Health Network areas on four indicators measuring the health of babies and their mothers.
Those four indicators were infant and young child deaths, the rate of newborn babies of a low birth weight, mothers smoking during pregnancy, and mothers attending antenatal care services during the first trimester of their pregnancy.
It revealed that 15.7 per cent of women from Western Victoria smoked during their pregnancy between 2013 and 2015.
Although this was a decrease from 16.4 per cent from the period 2012 to 2014, the percentage was higher than the national average of 11 per cent.
The region ranked third-highest in the state and 13th in the country.
The percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who smoked during pregnancy was substantially higher across the board, with 44.9 per cent in Western Victoria compared to 46.5 per cent nationally.
Lister House Medical Clinic Horsham nurse manager Amanda Wilson said there were many positives to stopping smoking before or during pregnancy.
“Smoking during pregnancy leads to lower birth weights and causes children to have ongoing health issues,” she said.
“It’s never too late to stop smoking and there are many benefits to quitting even before you get pregnant.
“I always say it’s better to do something and change smoking habits than do nothing at all, anything can make a difference.”
Mrs Wilson said people could contact a medical professional or Quitline on 13 78 48 if they wanted support to quit smoking.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare spokeswoman Anna O’Mahony said smoking statistics varied from region to region.
“While nationally there has been a consistent decrease in the proportion of mothers smoking during pregnancy, rates in some PHN areas are nearly 18 times as high as in others,” she said.
The number of deaths among infants and young children aged less than five years per 1000 live births was 3.8 for West Victoria, compared to 4.1 nationally.
The percentage of live births that were of low birth weight was at 5.2 per cent for Western Victoria, which was only slightly higher than the national average of 4.9 per cent.
The percentage of women who gave birth and had at least one antenatal visit in the first trimester was 52.3 per cent, which was well below the national average of 62.7 per cent.
Ms O’Mahony said although a wide range of topics relating to the health of mothers and their babies had already been reported on, there was more to learn.
“This includes improving data on mothers’ experiences with domestic violence, mental health issues, and alcohol consumption during pregnancy,” she said.