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Analysis of Health Statistics for Status Indians in British Columbia 1991 - 1998

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Overview of Birth Statistics

This section examines the birth-related statistics for Status Indians and all other B.C. residents, as well as noting major findings for the South Mainland, Vancouver Island, North West and North East administrative areas used by Medical Services Branch, Health Canada. The birth-related statistics include live births by gender, low birth weight, premature, cesarean section, teenage mothers, elderly gravida, and stillbirths, and are presented at the provincial level in Table 4 and by areas in Tables 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d. Causes of stillbirth are presented for Status Indians and all other B.C. in Tables 7, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d (in the infant mortality section). This birth section concludes with an overview of age specific and total fertility rates, shown in Tables 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d.

Live Births

Over the period 1991 to 1998, one out of every 15 babies born in the province was Status Indian. There were 24,159 Status Indian live births over the eight year period: 12,467 males and 11,691 females. The Status Indian live birth rate for 1991-1998 was 25.1 per 1,000 Status Indian population, more than twice the rate of 11.8 per 1,000 of all other B.C. residents. The Status Indian live birth rates decreased each year from 1991 until 1997, and increased slightly in 1998, while the birth rate of all other B.C. residents decreased in each of the eight years.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
In the eight year period, nearly one half of the Status Indian babies were born in the South Mainland area (11,085 Status Indian births). The Vancouver Island area (5,312) and the North East area (4,834) each had almost one fifth of Status Indian births and over one tenth were born in the North West area (2,814).
The North West area had the highest proportion of births which were Status Indian: one out of every three births was Status Indian. The South Mainland area had the lowest proportion where one out of every twenty four births was a Status Indian child.
In all area populations, both Status Indian and other residents, the birth rates decreased over the eight years.

Low Birth Weight Births

There were 1,355 Status Indian live births with low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams) in 1991-1998. This resulted in a Status Indian low birth weight rate of 56.1 per 1,000 Status Indian live births, which was slightly higher than the LBW rate of 50.0 for all other B.C. residents. The Status Indian population accounted for approximately one out of every 14 low birth weight births in the province in the eight years. While low birth weight rates of all other B.C. residents tended to increase on average over the eight-year period, the Status Indian low birth weight rates showed a slight decreasing trend.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
The lowest LBW rate (1991-1998) was in the North West Status Indian population (40.9). The rates for Status Indian populations in other areas ranged between 57.7 and 58.7. For the rest of the population of the four areas, the LBW rate ranged between 46.4 and 51.0.

Premature Births

Status Indians had 2,143 premature live births (gestational age less than 37 weeks) in 1991-1998. The Status Indian premature birth rate was 88.7 per 1,000 Status Indian live births, which was almost one and a half times the rate of 60.7 for all other B.C. residents One out of every 11 premature live births in B.C. in the eight years was a Status Indian baby. The premature birth rate varied over the eight-year period in both the provincial Status Indian population and all other B.C. residents.
The 1991-1998 Status Indian premature birth rates were higher than the rates for other residents in all four administrative areas of B.C. The Vancouver Island area Status Indian premature birth rate of 106.9 was almost twice as high as the rate for other residents in the area (58.3), which was the greatest difference. The North West area had the lowest Status Indian premature rate (75.3) and smallest difference from the rate for other area residents (63.2).

Births by Cesarean Section

In 1991-1998, a total of 3,930 Status Indian live births were delivered by cesarean section. The Status Indian cesarean section rate of 162.7 per 1,000 Status Indian live births was 20% lower than the rate for all other B.C. residents (209.0). Approximately one out of every 19 live births delivered by cesarean section was a Status Indian. Cesarean section rates for both groups, Status Indian and all other B.C. residents, varied over the eight-year period.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
In the 1991 to 1998 period, one out of thirty cesarean births in the South Mainland area was a Status Indian. The highest proportion was in the North West area where almost one out of three cesarean births was a Status Indian.
In all four areas, the Status Indian cesarean section rates were lower than the rates for all other area residents. The Vancouver Island area Status Indian cesarean section rate of 154.6 was the lowest of all areas and the North West area had the highest (167.7). The cesarean rates for the all other area residents ranged between 205.8 and 222.9.

Births to Teenage Mothers

From 1991 to 1998, one out of every four teenage mothers in the province was a Status Indian. There were 4,691 live births to Status Indian women under the age of twenty years old in this period of time (see Table 4). The Status Indian live birth rate for teenage mothers was 194.2 per 1,000 live births, more than four and a half times the rate for all other B.C. residents (42.9). The teenage mother rates for both populations showed downward trends over the eight year period.
The highest 1991-1998 live birth rate for Status Indian teenage mothers was in the Vancouver Island area (221.2) and the lowest was in the South Mainland area (169.2). South Mainland also had the lowest teenage mother rate (37.2) for other residents of the four areas, and the highest was in the North East area (75.7).

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]

Births to Older Mothers

There were a total of 1,563 babies born to Status Indian women aged thirty-five years or older in 1991-1998, for an elderly gravida rate of 64.7 per 1,000 live births in the Status Indian population. This rate was less than half the elderly gravida rate in all other B.C. residents (145.4). The rate of live births to women 35 or older showed a large increase each year from 1991 to 1998 in both populations.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
In the North East area, the 1991-1998 elderly gravida rates of 42.8 for Status Indians and 87.5 for other area residents were the lowest of four areas. The South Mainland area had the highest rates for both population groups: 76.5 for Status Indians and 154.3 for all other area residents.

Stillbirths

In 1991-1998, there were 175 Status Indian stillbirths for a rate of 7.2 per 1,000 total births (live births plus stillbirths) in the Status Indian population. The Status Indian stillbirth rate was slightly higher than the rate for all other B.C. residents (6.7) for the eight-year period. There was considerable variation in the stillbirth rates from year to year in both populations.
In two areas of the province, North West and North East areas, the Status Indian 1991-1998 stillbirth rates were approximately 30% and 20%, respectively, lower than the stillbirth rates for other area residents. The Vancouver Island area had the highest Status Indian stillbirth rate (7.1) and the lowest rate of the four areas for other residents (5.5).
Perinatal complications were the most common cause of stillbirth in both the Status Indian and all other B.C. residents populations, accounting for 9 out of 10 stillbirths in the Status Indian population (see Table 7).
More than a third of all B.C. stillbirths in the eight-year period in both populations were due to complications of the placenta, cord, and membranes.
The 1991-1998 rate of Status Indian stillbirths due to congenital anomalies, 6.6 per 1,000 total births, was less than half of the rate of 14.7 seen among other B.C. residents. However, this finding should be interpreted with caution, since the number of Status Indian stillbirths due to congenital anomalies was very small.

Live Birth Fertility Rates

For births in the eight-year period 1991-1998, Status Indian mothers tended to be younger than B.C. mothers in general. For both provincial and area populations, mothers aged 20-24 made up the largest group among Status Indian live births, while for other residents, the 25-29 age group was the largest. Roughly three quarters of the Status Indian live births in 1991-1998 were to mothers 15-30 years old. In comparison, young mothers accounted for about half of the live births to other B.C. residents. (Please note: Table 5 excludes births to mothers under the age of 15 as well as birth to mothers aged 45 or more.)
Comparing four areas of B.C. in the 1991 to 1998 period, the North East area had the youngest mothers. In that area, about four fifths of Status Indian live births and two thirds of births to other area residents were to mothers 15-30 years of age.
An Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR) is the number of live births per 1,000 women in a specific age group. The Status Indian ASFR for 1991-1998 for the teenage and 20-24 age groups were substantially higher than ASFR for other B.C. residents in the age groups. There were 108.7 Status Indian live births per 1,000 female population in the 15-19 age group in 1991-1998, which was almost seven times the rate for other teenage women in B.C. (16.3). The highest Status Indian ASFR for the 15-19 age group was in the Vancouver Island area (117.4), and the lowest was in the North West area (95.9), while the rates for other residents in the four areas ranges from 14.5 to 27.2. In the 20-24 age group, the Status Indian ASFR (170.7) was almost three times the rate for other B.C. women in the age group (63.2). The North East area had the highest rates for both populations (182.2 for Status Indians and 109.1 for other residents).
In the age groups over 24 years of age, the ASFRs for the Status Indian populations were approximately 20% above to 10% below those of other B.C. residents in the age group. This pattern was repeated in each of the four administrative areas.
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) indicates the total number of births a group of 1,000 women would have in their lifetime if their fertility in each of their reproductive years (age 15 to 44) matched the age specific fertility rates of women in each age group in the specified calendar year. The TFR for the Status Indian population for 1991-1998 was 2,566 live births per 1,000 women, which was about two thirds higher than all other B.C. residents rate of 1,534. The TFR for all other B.C. residents showed a steady decrease over the eight year period, which was not seen in the Status Indian population.
Regionally, the highest Total Fertility Rate for a Status Indian population was in the South Mainland area (2,652) and the lowest was in the North West area (2,203). For other populations in the four areas, the highest TFR was in the North West area (1,830) and the lowest was in the Vancouver Island area (1,471).

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