Alliance tackles preterm birth rates

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory’s alarming worrying rates of preterm birth are in the crosshairs of the country’s leading obstetricians and maternity care providers.
 

The Northern Territory’s alarming worrying rates of preterm birth are in the crosshairs of the country’s leading obstetricians and maternity care providers.

Leading health professionals from around the country gathered as part of the recent Top End launch of the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance to discuss a way forward in addressing the NT’s rates of preterm birth - currently the second highest in the country.

Indigenous obstetrician and gynaecologist, and Co-Lead of the NT Alliance, Dr Kiarna Brown said that a staggering 1 in 12 babies in Australia are born premature, and for many Territorians, the news is much worse.

“While the NT’s preterm birth rate for its Non-Indigenous population was comparable to the National average at 8%, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies this rate is almost double at over 14%. The biggest discrepancy is in the extremely preterm gestational age,” Dr Brown said.


“The event addressed and informed the scope of the problem in the Northern Territory and endeavoured to recruit the key stakeholders in women’s health to assist in the implementation of a local Initiative. This is an ambitious undertaking, however the health and future wellbeing of the babies of the Territory, and hence future Territorians, are at stake.”

Key areas for implementation include the provision of appropriate ultrasound services, and support from the NT Health Department for the funding of research and the promotion of the Initiative which has grown out of the success of WIRF’s pioneering Western Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative.

Dr Kiarna Brown is joined by Dr Carina Cotaru as Co-Leads of the Top End Alliance.

To-date the Alliance has held launch events in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, with plans for a launch event in South Australia in February 2020.