6 October 2022
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #20355 email]
Tēnā koe Chris,
Your Official Information Act request, reference H2022013213:
Thank you for your email of 21 September 2022 requesting information relating to still births.
As part of the health and disability system reforms, as of 1 July 2022 the functions previously under
the Manatū Hauora (Ministry of Health) Data and Digital directorate have transferred to Te Whatu
Ora – Health New Zealand. As the matters you have raised now fal under the functions of Te Whatu
Ora, our agency wil respond to your request which has been considered under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act). I shal quote and respond to each part of your request below.
Please provide Definition of still birth
Under section 2 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995, a stil -birth is
defined as “
the issue from its mother of a stil -born child”. Further, a still-born child
is defined as “a dead
foetus that–
a) weighed 400g or more when it issued from its mother; or
b) issued from its mother after the 20th week of pregnancy”.
Please provide number of stil births 2010-2022
Te Whatu Ora, through the Manatū Hauora website, publishes information on still-births, including
historical data, on its website as part of the fetal and infant deaths web tool:
www.health.govt.nz/publication/fetal-and-infant-deaths-web-tool. This includes data until 2018.
In 2019, there were 426 stil -birth registrations, and in 2020 there were 434 stil -birth registrations.
Information for stillbirths in 2021 is not yet available. The data for 2021 is likely to be available in the first
half of 2023, on request to Te Whatu Ora. The reason this data takes time to process is that there can be
issues with non-registration. These cases need to be investigated to determine whether they should be
included in the data.
I trust the information provided is of assistance. You are advised of your right to also raise any
concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
83 Molesworth Street, PO Box 5013
Welington New Zealand 6140
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Te Whatu Ora may decide to
proactively release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Gaynor Bradfield
Manager
Office of the Chief Data and Digital