Abortion or premature delivery?

This article sets forth the history of the attempt in New South Wales to establish a uniform criterion of stillbirth for statistical purposes. Since 1969, a stillborn infant has been defined as a child of at least 20 weeks gestation or at least 400 gm weight at delivery which has not breathed after delivery. The criterion of life is the presence of a heartbeat after complete expulsion or extraction of the child from its mother. The period of gestation included in the definition of stillbirth represents an attempt to ensure that all infants with the potential for survival are registered. However, since it is not specified whether the period of gestation should be measured as commencing from the time of conception or the 1st day of the last menstrual period, there is a preference for the more objective birthweight measure. In 1978, the World Health Organization recommended that, for statistical purposes, a birthweight of at least 500 gm be the primary criterion for distinguishing between stillbirth and spontaneous abortion. Although this definition is used for the reporting of official Australian perinatal statistics, it has not been approved in New South Wales and some other states.