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Ministry of Health
TABLE 7
BIRTHS BY AGE OF MOTHER AND LIVE BIRTHS BY BIRTH ORDER
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1998

  Birth Order      
Age of Mother 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ N.S. Total Live Births Stillbirths Total Births
<13 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1
13 3 - - - - - - - - - 3 1 4
14 25 2 - - - - - - - - 27 - 27
15 84 2 - - - - - - - - 86 - 86
16 207 7 1 - - - - - - - 215 4 219
17 375 35 2 - - - - - - - 412 3 415
18 454 82 4 - - - - - - - 540 2 542
19 640 148 22 4 - - - - - - 814 9 823
20 755 255 45 5 3 - - - - - 1,063 4 1,067
21 824 342 75 11 1 - - - - - 1,253 8 1,261
22 856 481 107 16 2 - - - - - 1,462 10 1,472
23 961 596 147 42 7 2 - - - - 1,755 10 1,765
24 1,036 653 175 45 9 - - - - - 1,918 13 1,931
25 1,055 792 242 50 14 2 - - - - 2,155 19 2,174
26 1,159 799 248 69 23 5 2 - - - 2,305 13 2,318
27 1,263 963 343 77 25 5 1 - - - 2,677 21 2,698
28 1,343 1,050 385 101 19 9 4 1 - - 2,912 14 2,926
29 1,285 1,186 388 125 25 17 5 1 - - 3,032 23 3,055
30 1,243 1,123 353 112 27 12 5 1 - - 2,876 16 2,892
31 1,085 1,107 423 114 23 9 11 - 1 - 2,773 8 2,781
32 963 1,058 426 124 40 17 7 1 - - 2,636 14 2,650
33 863 998 435 134 38 6 3 4 2 - 2,483 12 2,495
34 690 943 413 125 40 12 8 4 2 - 2,237 17 2,254
35 591 876 362 126 34 20 1 1 3 - 2,014 8 2,022
36 453 584 279 106 45 22 4 5 3 - 1,501 14 1,515
37 339 455 198 87 38 10 8 2 5 - 1,142 13 1,155
38 280 332 184 64 23 11 3 5 5 - 907 9 916
39 179 246 141 69 20 9 6 2 3 - 675 4 679
40 119 162 82 37 16 10 3 1 3 - 433 1 434
41 70 99 43 22 11 6 4 1 - - 256 3 259
42 55 61 27 13 8 2 4 1 5 - 176 1 177
43 22 26 18 8 5 3 1 - - - 83 3 86
44 15 13 11 6 - 2 2 1 2 - 52 2 54
45+ 6 12 7 4 3 - - 1 2 - 35 - 35
N.S. - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TOTAL 19,299 15,488 5,586 1,696 499 191 82 32 36 - 42,909 279 43,188

Note: Birth order denotes the number of live births. Non-residents are excluded. N.S. - Not Stated.

HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 7

  • In 1998, there were 42,909 live births in the province to B.C. residents, 21,911 males and 20,996 females, and two births where the gender was unknown. There were 10.70 live births per 1,000 population in 1998, compared to a birth rate of 11.74 for the 1994-1998 period (Appendix 3).

  • Of the 42,909 live births in 1998, almost half (45.0%) were first born (19,299), more than a third (36.1%) were second born (15,488), and about one in five (18.9%) was third born or greater (8,122).

  • The average age of B.C. women giving birth in 1998 was 29.0 years. The average maternal age of first live births was 27.4 years, compared to 29.7 years for mothers of second live births and 30.9 years for mothers having their third live birth.

  • In 1998, there were 2,098 live births to mothers younger than 20 years old. The 1998 teenage mother rate, 48.89 per 1,000 live births, was lower than the five-year rate of 51.43 for the 1994-1998 period (Appendix 3). There were 7,274 live births to mothers aged 35 or older in 1998. The elderly gravida rate has increased in recent years; the 1998 rate of 169.52 per 1,000 live births was considerably higher than the 1994-1998 five-year rate of 152.29 (Appendix 3).

  • There were 279 stillbirths in 1998. Including stillbirths, there were 43,188 total births in 1998 to B.C. residents. The 1998 stillbirth rate, 6.46 per 1,000 total births (Table 27), was lower than the five-year rate of 6.87 for the 1994-1998 period (Appendix 3).