Malta has a teenage delivery rate of 5.8% of all women giving birth, according to an EU-wide perinatal health report.The figures across Europe range from 1.3% in Denmark to 9.3% in Latvia
A total of 11.7% of women were registered as delivering at 35 years or older in Malta,compared to 7.5% in Slovakia to 24.3% in Ireland.
7.2% of women in Malta reported smoking during pregnancy. “This was a comparatively low rate and may be an underestimate as many women are reluctant to report smoking habits at their antenatal visits when this information is collected,” the Health Department said. The highest rate reported was 22% for Wales and the lowest was 4.8% for Lithuania.
The rate of vaginal non-instrumental births in Malta was 67.8% of total births. This rate varied in the different countries ranging from 82.8% in Slovenia to 53.8% in Portugal. 3.8% of total births were instrumental vaginal deliveries including forceps, ventouse and breech extractions while the rest (28.3%) were births by caesarean section.
The highest caesarean section rate was reported from Italy at 37.8% of total births, followed by Portugal (33.1%), Ireland (29.5%) and Malta (28.3%). The lowest rate was reported from Slovenia at 14.4%.
85.4% of births in Malta occurred in a large maternity unit catering for over 3000 births per year while 14.5% of births occurred in small maternity units catering for less than 300 births per year.
The rate of newborns breastfed during the first 48 hours was reported as 68.4% for Malta. Four centres reported lower rates: Ireland (45.6%), France (62.3%), Northern Ireland (63.0%) and Wales (67.0%). The highest rate of breast feeding in the first 48 hours was reported from Sweden at 97.9%.
Malta did not register any maternal deaths in 2003 or 2004 and that is rare across the EU.
The neonatal mortality (number of deaths up to 28 completed days of birth) was 4.4/1000 live births for Malta (highest 5.7 for Latvia and lowest 1.6 for Cyprus). Most neonatal deaths were associated with preterm birth and congenital anomalies.
“As Malta does not allow induced abortion for fetal anomalies, it is understandable that neonatal mortality rates will be increased,” the Health Department said.
Infant mortality (number of deaths following live birth and until one year of age) for Malta were reported at 5.9/1000 live births (highest 9.4/1000 live births for Latvia and lowest 3.0/1000 live births for Sweden and Norway).
Malta reported the highest rate of total neonatal mortality (until 28 days of life) due to congenital anomalies (2.3/1000 live births). This, the department said, may also be explained by the fact that induced abortion for foetal anomalies is illegal in Malta. The percentage of early neonatal deaths (until 7 days of life) due to congenital anomalies is also high at 41.7%. This is followed by Ireland at 40.1%.