Perinatal statistics in the Nordic countries

In 2008, live births totalled almost 300 000 in the Nordic countries, 9 per cent more than in 2001. Iceland has the highest fertility (2.14). Total fertility rates in the other Nordic countries have also increased, varying between 1.85 and 1.96 in 2008.

The mean age of primiparas is 29 in Denmark, about 28.5 in Sweden, 28 in Finland, 27.5 in Norway and 26 in Iceland. The mean age of all parturients is over 30 in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, but somewhat below 30 in Norway and Iceland. The share of parturients aged 35 years or more is over 22 per cent in Sweden, 20 per cent in Denmark, 19 percent in Norway and 18 per cent in Finland and Iceland in 2008. In Finland, this proportion has decreased over the past years.
 
Smoking has become less common among pregnant women in all the Nordic countries except Finland. In Norway, the proportion of smokers has started to grow in the recent years. The proportion of pregnant women who smoke is lowest in Sweden (7%) and highest in Norway (19%). In Finland, slightly less than 15 per cent of mothers were smokers in 2008. The proportion was the same as in the late 1980s. (Figure 1.)

The percentage of teen pregnancies out of the annual total has long been under 2 per cent in Denmark and Sweden, and slightly more in Finland and Norway. These figures have generally been higher in Iceland, but the figures have dropped from 6 per cent to 3.5 per cent over the past ten years.

Figure 1. Smoking during pregnancy 1983–2008, %.

Caesarean sections have become more prevalent in all Nordic countries. They account for 21 per cent of births in Denmark, 17 per cent in Finland, Norway and Sweden, and 16 per cent in Iceland. Tears in vaginal delivery have become more common in the Nordic countries. The most serious III and IV degree tears are reported in 1 per cent of vaginal deliveries in Finland, in less than 3 per cent in Norway, in 4 per cent in Denmark and Sweden and over 5 per cent in Iceland.

Denmark had the most live births with a birth weight less than 2500 g, 5 per cent. The figure was 4 per cent for the other Nordic countries.

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