The number of women who gave birth in the ACT increased 26 per cent in a decade and the average age of mothers was higher in the territory and Victoria than other parts of Australia, according to a major report into births in Australia.
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There were 5939 women who gave birth in the ACT in 2012, 1231 more than in 2002, a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released on Tuesday reveals.
Of women who gave birth in the ACT in 2012, 14.2 per cent were non-ACT residents.
The report said the ACT data contained a "relatively high proportion" of NSW residents and women with high-risk pregnancies may be more likely to be transferred to the territory from small centres in NSW that do not have the facilities to manage such births safely.
The report also revealed that in 2012, the average age of mothers was higher in women who gave birth in Victoria and the ACT, at 30.7 years.
The ACT had the lowest proportion of teenagers who gave birth, at 2.2 per cent.
In the ACT, about 7.8 per cent of women smoked while pregnant, which was the lowest in Australia.
Dr Georgina Chambers of the AIHW National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics said the report also revealed there had been an increase in the number of births in Australia for the first time in five years.
"There's been about 10,500 more babies born in 2012, compared to 2011, which is about a 3.4 per cent increase," she said.
"It's similar to a peak that we saw in 2007 where we saw a mini baby boom if you like, between about 2004 and 2007. We don't know if that's going to be a continuing trend or if it's just a one-off increase."
Dr Chambers said the average age of women giving birth in Australia had increased from 29.5 years in 2003 to 30.1 years in 2012. The average age for first time mothers was 28.4 years.
The report also revealed that of women who gave birth in the ACT in 2012, 3.1 per cent of pregnancies resulted from assisted reproductive technology.
In the ACT, nearly one in three women (32.1 per cent) gave birth by caesarean section in 2012, while nationally the rate was 32.4 per cent, similar to the previous year's rate.
The report also looked at the body mass index of women who gave birth, revealing the mean BMI for women who gave birth in the ACT was 25.3, although data on maternal BMI was only partially collected from the territory.
"The normal range of BMI for non-pregnant women is 18.5 to 24.9. BMI increases are expected in pregnancy," the report said.
The report said 18.2 per cent of women with a known BMI who gave birth in the ACT in 2012 were obese.
"Obesity in pregnancy contributes to increased morbidity and mortality for both mother and baby," the report said.
"Pregnant women who are obese have an increased risk of thromboembolism, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage, wound infections and caesarean section, and their babies have higher rates of congenital anomaly, stillbirth and neonatal death compared with pregnant women who are not obese."
