Pregnancy and Maternal Health Data

In Ottawa:

• A total of 10,549 babies were born in 2024, up from 9,847 live births in 2023 (Figure 1).
• Fertility rates (number of live births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 49 years) consistently declined over the last decade, from 43.0 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 49 years in 2013 to 36.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 49 years in 2023 and rebounded slightly to 37.8 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 49 years in 2024 (Figure 1). Fertility rates were lower in Ottawa than the Ontario average between 2013 and 2023. [1]
• Fertility rates were highest among women aged 30 to 34 years (98.6 births per 1,000 females), followed by women aged 35 to 39 years (69.0 births per 1,000 females) and women aged 25 to 29 years (46.2 births per 1,000 females) (Figure 2).
• The number and rate of live births among teenagers dropped 60% from 159 births (5.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 years) in 2013 to 68 births (2.1 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 years) in 2024 [2]. The rate of live births in Ottawa was lower than Ontario (2.8 births per 1,000 women 15 to 19 years in 2023). [1]
• In 2024, the majority (97.4%) of women delivered at a hospital, while 2.2% delivered at home and 0.4% delivered at a birth centre. [3] 

In Ottawa:

• Three out of ten (31.5%) women attended a prenatal class during their last pregnancy in 2018. This was higher than the Ontario-less-Ottawa average of 22.2%. [4]
• During their first trimester of pregnancy, in 2024, 89% of women visited a health care provider, a decline from 2023 (92%) and lower than the Ontario-less-Ottawa average of 94%. [3]

In Ottawa:

• In 2024, 21% of postpartum mothers self-reported a mental health concern during pregnancy to their health care provider, similar to Ontario-less-Ottawa (21%). Mental health concerns included anxiety (16.4%) and depression (8.9%). [3]

In Ottawa:

• One in fifty (2.1%) women who gave birth in 2024 reported smoking close to the time of their child’s birth, slightly lower compared to Ontario-less-Ottawa (3.1%). [3]
• Nearly one in fifty (1.7%) women who gave birth in 2024 reported drinking alcohol during their pregnancy, similar to Ontario-less-Ottawa (1.5%). [3]
• Approximately one in fifty (1.9%) women who gave birth in 2024 reported cannabis exposure during pregnancy, slightly lower compared to Ontario-less-Ottawa (2.9%). [3]

In Ottawa:

• In 2024, 46% of women who gave birth had a ‘normal weight’ Body Mass Index (BMI, 18.5 – 24.9) before their pregnancy, 29% began their pregnancy with an ‘overweight’ BMI (25.0 – 29.9), 22% began their pregnancy with an ‘obese’ BMI (≥ 30.0), and 3% with an ‘underweight’ BMI (< 18.5). [3]
• In 2024, 46% of women who gave birth gained more than the recommended amount of weight during their pregnancies, as per the Canadian gestational weight gain recommendations, 30% gained within the recommended amount of weight, and 23% gained below the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy. [3]
• Nearly three out of five women who began their pregnancies as overweight (58%) or obese (58%) gained more than the recommended amount of weight during their pregnancies in 2024 (Figure 3).

• In 2018, the majority of births in Ottawa were [4]:
  • singleton (96.7% vs. 3.2% multiple);
  • born full-term (92.4%, vs. 7.6% preterm); and
  • born with an appropriate weight for their gestational age (81.6%).
• Compared to Ontario-less-Ottawa in 2018, Ottawa had a lower proportion of small for gestational age babies born (Ottawa: 8.4% vs. Ontario-less-Ottawa: 9.8%) and a slightly higher proportion of large for gestational age babies born (Ottawa: 9.9% vs. Ontario-less-Ottawa: 9.3%). [4]
• Similar to the Ontario-less-Ottawa average (28.9%), in 2018, 29.1% of Ottawa women delivered via Cesarean section - the highest proportion over the past six years, of which, 57.3% were a first-time Cesarean section and 38.6% were repeat Cesarean sections. [4]

Infant mortality is the death of an infant before their first birthday (days 0-364). The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

Neonatal mortality is the death of an infant aged 0-27 days. Post-neonatal mortality is the death of an infant aged 28-364 days.

In Ottawa:

• From 2013 to 2015, there was an annual average of 38.4 infant deaths. This includes an average of 32.3 neonatal deaths and an average of 6.3 post-neonatal deaths (Figure 4).
• Infant mortality rates in Ottawa have declined over the past 15 years from a high of 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births from 1998-2000 to 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births from 2013-2015. On average, infant mortality rates in Ottawa are lower than in the Ontario-less-Ottawa average (Figure 5).