The antenatal period is important area of attention as we work to ensure future generations get the best start in life.
The NT has a legislated responsibility to maintain a data collection of all mothers and babies in the NT, we know this is as the Perinatal Registry or Midwives Collection. This data has been collected since 1986. In the data that I will share today, we count all mothers who gave birth and are resident of the NT. This analysis excludes about 2.5% of births from mothers who birth in the NT but are interstate residents. Indigenous status is well captured in the NT perinatal dataset, which is critical for policy and service planning, as it helps with evaluating programs and identifying any existing service gaps.