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BORN Ontario plays a vital role in advancing maternal and child health. This report highlights key trends and outcomes from the past twelve years. The findings tell an evolving story of pregnancy, birth, and newborn care in our province.
The trends are striking: births to individuals aged 35 and older have risen, mental health concerns during pregnancy have nearly doubled, early exclusive breastfeeding rates are declining, and the reporting of cannabis use in pregnancy has tripled since legalization. At the same time, we’ve seen improvements in early prenatal care access and newborn temperature management at NICU admission, increased care provided by midwives, a growing use of assisted reproductive technologies, and most recently an impressive adoption of new universal infant RSV prevention at birth.
These shifts reflect changes in our population and in the systems – within and outside of traditional healthcare models that support them. They challenge us to ask: Are we meeting the needs of today’s pregnant women, individuals, and families? And more importantly, how can we do better? One trend that demands our attention is the steady rise in C-section births (see Figure 3.2.5) affecting both first-time and repeat parents. Understanding these patterns is essential to ensuring that birthing options remain safe, evidence-informed, and person-centred.
This report is a call to action. Whether you are a clinician, policymaker, researcher, or advocate, the insights within these pages are tools — tools to drive curiosity, quality improvement, to plan and innovate, and to champion high quality equitable care and outcomes. Let this data spark conversations, inform decisions, fuel research questions, re-evaluate care models, and inspire bold steps toward better outcomes for all.
Alicia St Hill
Executive Director, BORN Ontario
What is the purpose of this report?
This report provides a comprehensive overview of perinatal health trends in Ontario over a 12-year period. It brings together data on pregnancy, birth, and newborn outcomes to support improved care and outcomes across the system.
The findings are intended to:
How can this report inform clinical practice and quality improvement?
Clinicians and healthcare organizations can use this report to:
The report is intended to support continuous improvement and reflective practice across care settings. For those who contribute data to the BORN Information System (BIS), feel free to reach out to your BORN Regional Coordinator for further discussion/support about what information is currently available to you in the BIS for comparison.
I’m interested in trends from the report but want to better understand them. What should I do?
Understanding trends often requires additional context. To support interpretation:
We encourage thoughtful interpretation of the data, particularly where population, system, or data limitations may influence trends.
How does BORN Ontario ensure data privacy and security?
BORN is Ontario’s prescribed maternal-child registry and develops and follows rigorous data privacy and security policies which are reviewed and approved by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario every three years.
Personal health information within BORN is protected by administrative, physical and technological controls that adhere to industry best practices for security and safeguard against unauthorized accidental or intentional release of information.
Protecting privacy while enabling meaningful use of data is central to BORN’s work.
Does this report address health equity?
This report includes considerations related to social determinants of health and equity. However, there are known limitations in available data, particularly related to race and ethnicity.
Through BORN’s Internal and External Health Equity Advisory Group, BORN is actively working with partners to:
Advancing health equity remains a key priority.
How can I request data from BORN Ontario?
BORN Ontario provides access to data for approved purposes through a formal data request process.
What’s next following the release of this report?
This report is a starting point for ongoing system learning and action. BORN Ontario will use these findings to:
We encourage all partners to use this report to guide planning, inform decision-making, and support meaningful change.
Access the BIS
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