Asian births on rise in NZ

Wen Xie and her newborn baby girl, Gee Yan Li, who weighed 4.02kg. Photo / Janna Dixon

One baby in eight born in Kiwi hospitals last year had an Asian mum, new Statistics New Zealand data shows.

In Auckland alone, 5149 mums with an Asian heritage gave birth, which was more than double the number compared with 15 years ago.

Last year was also the first time in the country's biggest city that more Asian mums had babies than Maori women, who registered 5015 births.

According to the data, the majority of women nationwide who gave birth last year were still those with a European background - 43,965 of last year's 63,897 births.

But mums from other ethnic backgrounds are increasingly helping to bump up the numbers, including more Middle Eastern, Latin American and African women.

This also proves there has been a baby boom - from 57,280 babies born in 1996 to 63,897 last year.

Auckland University's head of obstetrics and gynaecology, Professor Lesley McCowan, said the increase in Asian women in the birth statistics reflected New Zealand's increasingly multicultural society.

Generally Asian women, particularly Chinese, had "good pregnancy outcomes" and low rates of perinatal mortality, but she was not sure why. Their babies tended to be slightly smaller than European babies and were significantly smaller than Pacific Island offspring.

Chinese women tended to prefer midwives from their own culture so there were no language barriers.

Waitemata District Health Board head of midwifery Emma Farmer said 17 per cent of women who gave birth at Waitakere and North Shore Hospitals last year were of an Asian ethnicity - higher than Maori and Pacific Island statistics of which each were around 11 per cent.

She said interpreter services for Auckland hospitals catering for more than 90 different languages were nearby.

"We have to adapt to the changing needs," said Farmer.

BABY BEAUTIFUL AND LOVELY

Babay Gee Yan Li arrived into the world at North Shore City Hospital on Wednesday night to the delight of proud mum Wen Xie and dad Sheng Li.

The first baby for the Birkenhead couple was two days overdue and weighed 4.02kg. She boasts a name which means beautiful and lovely in Chinese to reflect the family's heritage.

Sheng said he came to New Zealand in 2000 to study as a structural engineer and stayed on. His wife joined him six years ago and they love living here.

They speak fluent English but chose a Chinese midwife so it was easier to understand "all the medical terms", said Sheng.