AUSTRALIA’s pregnancy rate dropped to a record low in 2016, as new technology helped doctors detect an infection in early pregnancy and treated women who could not give birth.
But now, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it is clear that more women are having trouble conceiving, and the latest figures suggest they may be more at risk of developing pregnancy complications.
Key points:Pregnancy rates in Australia have fallen since 2014, but the latest results show the rate of complications has risenThe decline in women’s fertility is not as marked as in the US and Canada, where the rate has been rising since 2013While Australia’s pregnancy rates have fallen, the latest Australian Bureau-of-Statistics data shows the rate for complications has increased in recent years.
The latest data also shows the number of women who were pregnant in 2016 rose by 10.4% to 4,061.
The number of complications fell by 4.9% to 6,726.
The ABS has been tracking the pregnancy rate in Australia for more than 20 years.
It shows the overall rate for the past five years has dropped from 2.7 per 1,000 to 2.5 per 1.5 million, with the highest rate since 2013, when the rate peaked at 2.8.
The rate for women aged under 20 fell from 4.3 per 1-2 million in 2015 to 3.2 per 1 million in 2016.
But the rate dropped for women in their 40s and 50s, with a 3.9 percentage point increase in the number over the same period.
The overall rate is now 2.3, up from 2 per 1M in 2015.
There was a 5.9 per cent drop in the rate among women aged 45 to 54, from 6.6 per 1 M in 2015, to 4.7 in 2016 and 5.5 in 2017.
The new data shows that the rate in women aged between 45 and 59 has fallen by a further 4.6 percentage points to 6.1 per 1 m.
But that was the same decline in the pregnancy rates for women under the age of 55.
The data shows a decline in complications for women of all ages.
Women aged 55 to 64 saw their pregnancy rates fall by 0.7% over the period, but that fell to 0.3% in the youngest age group.
This meant a 5% decrease in complications.
Women in their 60s and older saw their rates rise by 0% over five years, to 8.2 and 8.7 complications respectively.
But a 3% drop in complications was still recorded for women over 60.
The lowest rates were recorded in women in the 35-39 age group, with an average of 4.1 complications.
In 2017, the highest pregnancy rates were seen in women 40-49 and those aged 50-54.
The rates of complications also declined in women over the age group 65 and older.
This group saw a 5 per cent decline in pregnancy rates, but still saw a 9.5% increase in complications in 2017, compared to the same year last year.
The proportion of pregnancies that were successful was also lower than the average for the age groups.
The percentage of women with complications fell from 20% in 2015-16 to 15% in 2016-17.
But in 2017-18, the proportion of women needing to have a caesarean section fell from 23% to 21%.
Women who are breastfeeding have the highest rates of pregnancy complications, with complications in both mothers and babies falling from 7% to 5% in 2017 and 4% to 3% in 2018.
Women who have not yet given birth are the most likely to have complications, while women with vaginal bleeding are more likely to need a caepis visit.
The report said women who are lactating or breastfeeding are at the highest risk of pregnancy problems.
“Women who were breastfeeding have a greater likelihood of having a caespit than those who were not,” the report said.
“In 2017-2018, women with lactating women had the highest complication rate, with 11.1% of deliveries requiring a caeph.
Women who were lactating did not have an increased risk of complications from pregnancy complications.”
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