Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says a new report shows more women are receiving maternity care from the early stages of their pregnancy.

The Ministry of Health’s Report on Maternity provides statistics about women giving birth, their pregnancy, and information on babies in New Zealand.

It shows 63 per cent of women who registered with a LMC and gave birth in 2012 had registered in their first trimester - a 28 per cent increase on 2008. Over 90 per cent had registered with a LMC by the end of their second trimester.

“Every year close to 60,000 women give birth in New Zealand. It is important that both mother and baby receive high quality care no matter where they live,” says Dr Coleman.

“It is encouraging to see that more women are opting to register with a lead maternity carer in the first three months of their pregnancy. This means they have access to personalised, high quality care and advice sooner.

“There is always room for improvement. The Government has invested an extra $33.2 million to further strengthen maternity services.

“This includes the establishment of the National Maternity Monitoring Group to advise the Ministry of Health on quality improvements, and the roll out of a maternity quality and safety programme into every DHB.”

Published today, the Report on Maternity can be found at: www.moh.govt.nz/publications.