Smoking rate among pregnant Aborigines alarms authorities

MORE Aboriginal women are smoking while pregnant and more of their babies are dying in the first month of life, according to a government report.

MORE Aboriginal women are smoking while pregnant and more of their babies are dying in the first month of life, according to a government report that paints a sobering picture of indigenous maternal health.

In a snapshot of the health, education and employment status of Victoria's mostly urbanised Aboriginal population, the Brumby government's 2008-09 indigenous affairs annual report reveals a number of "areas of concern" that need to be urgently addressed, as well as some that have not improved in the past 12 months.

This includes that 40 per cent of indigenous women who were admitted to hospital one month before their babies were born were smokers in 2007-08, up from 38 per cent in 2006-07 and 30 per cent in 2002-03. Just 8 per cent of all the women in the state were smokers while pregnant.

The report also shows that the perinatal mortality rate per 1000 births for indigenous mothers was 20.4 in 2007, up from 15.8 in 2006, and compared with a rate of 9.8 for non-indigenous mothers.

The opposition claims the statistics show how little progress is being made to improve the lives of Victoria's 33,000 Aborigines, despite the millions of dollars being poured into the area.

Healthcare workers in the state's indigenous communities are calling for more assistance to help tackle the problem of smoking, which they say would help "close the gap" between the life expectancy of the indigenous and non-indigenous population.

The report also shows an increase in the number of Aboriginal adults sentenced to prison, more reports to police of family violence and a drop in the number of indigenous participants in state-funded jobs programs.

The annual report notes there is not enough data to establish a "clear trend" in the perinatal death rate, despite admitting a higher rate being "evident" among the Aboriginal community and maternity workers in Aboriginal communities saying they had noticed a recent increase.

Kim Hughes, who had her baby Tahlia 10 weeks ago, said she successfully gave up smoking during her pregnancy but found herself back smoking after she gave birth.

"So many people smoke, I find it very hard when you go out socially," she said.