Risk factors for pre-term babies:

• Multiple-birth babies were nearly 17 times as likely to be born preterm as singleton babies.
• Mothers who were diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes were up to six times more likely to deliver a preterm baby compared to women without those conditions.
• In 2006-2007, mothers age 35 and older had a preterm birth rate of nearly 10%, compared to 8% for those age 20 to 34.
• The preterm birth rate was also significantly higher for babies delivered by Caesarean section (13.3%) compared to induced (6.9%) or non-induced vaginal deliveries (6.5%).

Risk factors for small-for-gestational-age babies:

• Mothers living in urban areas were 1.3 times or 30% more likely to have a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, while mothers living in low-income neighbourhoods were also at increased risk (1.5 times or 50% more likely compared to mothers living in high-income neighbourhoods).
• Women with hypertension were almost twice as likely to deliver an SGA baby. Diabetes, on the other hand, was not shown to result in a higher rate of SGA births.

The lower the birth weight or gestational age of a newborn, the higher the hospital costs.

• In 2005-2006, the average in-hospital cost for a low birth weight baby (less than 2,500 grams or five and a half pounds) was more than 11 times higher than for those weighing 2,500 grams or more ($12,354 compared to $1,084).
• Average hospital costs were nine times higher for pre-term babies than for full-term babies ($9,233 versus $1,050). Among multiple-birth babies who were also preterm, the average cost was about seven times higher ($12,479 versus $1,871).
• SGA babies had an average hospital cost less than twice that of a non-SGA baby $2,297 versus $1,407.

SOURCE: Canadian Institute for Health Information: Too Early, Too Small: A Profile of Small Babies Across Canada. < www.cihi.ca > .

CIHI has additional statistics on various childbirth indicators that can be easily accessed through QuickStats at www.cihi.ca. Highlights from the 2007-2008 indicators (excluding Quebec) include the following:

Primary Caesarean section rates

• In 2007-2008, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island had the highest rate of primary Caesarean sections (or women having a C-section for the first time), with 22.8% and 22.6% of all live births delivered by primary C-section.
• Manitoba and Saskatchewan had the lowest primary C-section rates, at 13.4% and 15.6%, respectively.

Epidural rate for vaginal deliveries

• In 2007-2008, 58.2% of vaginal deliveries in Ontario and 51.3% of vaginal deliveries in Nova Scotia were preceded by an epidural, the highest among the provinces.
• British Columbia and Prince Edward Island had the lowest epidural rates for vaginal delivery, at 29.4% and 33.5%, respectively.

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