Map(s) of the Week: Childbirth, week 4

TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR

This week winds up our series on childbirth in the GTA with a look at homebirth and midwifery.

The information comes from data I bought from the Office of the Registrar-General, which was taken from the Statement of Live Birth form (.pdf) which is filled out when a child is born in Ontario. 

All the maps are based on the first three characters of the postal code of the mother, and show data from 2007, the most recent year available. Postal codes with fewer than 30 births have been dropped from the map this week.

Birth: Percentage of homebirths, 2007

Birth: Percentage of babies delivered by midwives, 2007

No distinction is made on the form between planned and unplanned homebirths.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the maps look roughly similar, with strong clusters in the old east and west ends of the central city, the west-end cluster being bigger. The midwifery map has a cluster in northern York Region roughly along the 400, and another in Burlington.

Here are the top 10 neighbourhoods for midwife-delivered babies:

M6R	Toronto: High Park/Roncesvalles	13.88%
M6G	Toronto: Little Italy: Seaton Village	12.87%
L9N	East Gwillimbury: Holland Landing	11.39%
M6S	Toronto: Bloor West Village/Swansea	10.17%
M4M	Toronto: South Riverdale	10.13%
M6P	Toronto: Bloor West Village/High Park	9.65%
M6H	Toronto: Trinity/Niagara	9.16%
M4L	Toronto: Leslieville/western Beaches	8.89%
M4J	Toronto: Trinity/Niagara	8.84%
M5C	Toronto: Jarvis/Queen/Yonge/King	8.82%

and the top 10 for homebirths:

M6R	Toronto: High Park/Roncesvalles	6.12%
L1W	Pickering: lakeshore area	6.00%
M5C	Toronto: Jarvis/Queen/Yonge/King	5.88%
M5B	Toronto: Ryerson area	5.19%
M6H	Toronto: Ossington/St. Clair/tracks/Dufferin	5.09%
M4M	Toronto: South Riverdale	5.06%
M4L	Toronto: North Toronto (N of Eglinton/Mount Pleasant)	4.65%
M6G	Toronto: Little Italy: Seaton Village	4.62%
M4P	Toronto: North Toronto (N of Eglinton/Mount Pleasant)	4.49%
M6P	Toronto: Bloor West Village/High Park	4.31%

For simplicity’s sake, the data order I placed with the Registrar-General covered the L- and M-series postal codes, which roughly works out to all of south-central Ontario, including Hamilton, Niagara and the area stretching north to Georgian Bay. The maps haven’t shown areas outside the GTA*, but I’ve been keeping an eye on that data.

Last week (Map: No other parent listed, 2007), I probably should have pointed out that two Hamilton neighbourhoods (L8L, more or less the North End, and adjoining L8M, a box bounded by Main St. E./the escarpment/Upper Wentworth/Ottawa Street) also have very high rates of single motherhood, and would have made a top 10 list if we were depicting all of south-central Ontario.

This week, the data shows that the Hamilton area has a much higher rate of midwife deliveries than anywhere else in south-central Ontario. Here is the top 10 list for midwife deliveries, if we look at this whole area (.pdf):

L9G	Suburban (non-rural) Ancaster	18.52%
L9H	Dundas	15.81%
L8S	Hamilton: McMaster/Westdale area	15.70%
L8P	Hamilton: 403/escarpment/King/James	15.68%
L8R	Hamilton: Roughly 403/King/James/harbour	14.06%
M6R	Toronto: High Park/Roncesvalles	13.88%
L2S	East Gwillimbury: Holland Landing	12.90%
M6G	Toronto: Little Italy: Seaton Village	12.87%
L9N	East Gwillimbury: Holland Landing	11.39%
L0S	Niagara Region: Eastern rural areas	11.37%

**

Here is the equivalent home birth table:

M6R	Toronto: High Park/Roncesvalles	6.12%
L1W	Pickering: lakeshore area	6.00%
M5B	Toronto: Ryerson area	5.19%
M6H	Toronto: Ossington/St. Clair/tracks/Dufferin	5.09%
M4M	Toronto: South Riverdale	5.06%
L0A	Northumberland County: western area	4.76%
L3C	Toronto: Little Italy: Seaton Village	4.71%
M4L	Toronto: Leslieville/western Beaches	4.65%
M6G	Toronto: Little Italy: Seaton Village	4.62%
M4P	Toronto: North Toronto (N of Eglinton/Mount Pleasant)	4.49%

**

I'm conscious with all these map projects that there are readers who know far more about any given subject than I do - I'm just a guy with some data and some tools. Here are some questions for readers:

1) Looking at this data, there seems to be a greater proportion of hospital deliveries by midwives outside the central city (in Hamilton and York Region, for example), and a greater proportion of home births downtown. Is there a reason? Both of our children were born at home in Riverdale, and I found it reassuring that if anything went wrong there were major hospitals within easy reach. Does it have to do with closeness to hospitals, or cultural differences between midwife practices?

2) In Toronto, the map of midwife deliveries roughly tracks the location of midwife practices. (map: zoom in to see Toronto in detail). Is this supply, demand, or something of both?

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* There are several reasons. One is that the boundaries on the maps have to be built by hand in a labour-intensive process, and adding postal areas outside the GTA would have involved creating another 67 polygons, or two-dimensional shapes. Another is that the maps are slow to load as it is (especially in IE) and I’m reluctant to slow them down further. Another is that several areas (Dufferin County and Niagara) have rural postal codes which completely enclose urban postal codes, and the XML system we’re using doesn’t allow for doughnut polygons (I’m aware that conventional geoKML does and and also GoogleMaps v3, as of this week).

** Two low-population postal codes excluded

Map(s) of the Week: Childbirth, week 3

SHUTTERSTOCK

Map: No other parent listed, 2007

This week continues our series on childbirth in the GTA.

The information comes from data I bought from the Office of the Registrar-General, which was taken from the Statement of Live Birth form (.pdf) which is filled out when a child is born in Ontario. 

All the maps are based on the first three characters of the postal code of the mother, and show data from 2007, the most recent year available.

This week's map looks at single mothers, by showing the percentage of 2007 births where a father/other parent wasn't listed on the Statement of Live Birth.

The most striking thing about this map is the solid block roughly along Black Creek Drive and the 400, where six postal areas side by side all have rates over 10%.

High rates are also found in the east downtown and South Riverdale, the Chinatown/Kensington Market area, and the West Hill/Guildwood area of Scarborough. Rates are lower in the Yonge St. corridor and the 905 generally except (relatively) for downtown Oshawa, northwest Caledon and the Steeles/Kennedy Road area of Brampton.

Here are the 10 highest:

M3N	Jane-Finch	16.20%
M5T	Kensington Market/Chinatown	15.66%
M3L	W Downsview	14.66%
M1E	West Hill/Guildwood	10.89%
M5A	Regent Park/St Lawrence/Corktown	10.72%
M3M	Central Downsview	10.59%
M9M	Weston	10.49%
M4M	South Riverdale	10.44%
M6L	401/Jane/Lawrence/CNR	10.32%
M6M	Keelesdale/Mount Dennis	10.09%

Map(s) of the Week: Childbirth, week 2

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Map: Average number of previous children, 2007

Map: Average birth weight, 2007

Map: Average length of pregnancy, 2007

This week continues our series on childbirth in the GTA.

The information comes from data I bought from the Office of the Registrar-General, which was taken from the Statement of Live Birth form (.pdf) which is filled out when a child is born in Ontario. 

All the maps are based on the first three characters of the postal code of the mother, and show data from 2007, the most recent year available.

This week's maps look at: average number of mother’s previous children; average length of pregnancy in weeks; and average birth weight in grams.

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The central city, more or less the former City of Toronto minus the east downtown, has fairly low numbers of previous children (map), and the core plus the Annex and Kensington has a lower rate still. My assumption here is that first births are more common among a younger population.

Higher numbers are recorded in Thorncliffe Park, two postal codes around Lawrence and the Allan, Jane/Finch and Rexdale, and two postal codes around Dixon Rd. and Islington.

Here are the 10 highest:

M6A	Lawrence Manor/Lawrence Heights	2.43
M9R	Willowridge/The Westway/Richview (E of 401/427)	2.25
L5K	Mississauga, Dundas and Winston Churchill	2.24
L0J	Kleinburg	2.17
M3N	Jane/Finch	2.13
M4H	Thorncliffe Park	2.11
M9P	SE of Islington/401	2.11
M1G	Golfdale Gardens (Golf Club Rd/Lawrence)	2.08
M5N	SE of Lawrence/Bathurst	2.07
L7K	NW Caledon	2.04

and 10 lowest:

M5R	Annex	1.46
M2K	York Mills	1.45
M2N	SW of 401/Bayview	1.45
M4Y	Church/Wellesley	1.44
M5E	St. Lawrence	1.4
L7S	Burlington N of Skyway	1.38
M5J	Lakeshore condos/Island	1.27
M5V	West downtown, Niagara	1.26
M5C	Yonge/King/Jarvis/Queen	1.21
M5H	North of downtown financial district	1.09

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The birth weight map shows high birth weights in the outer 905 generally (scroll the map out) and in some downtown neighbourhoods: the Beaches, Riverdale, Bloor West Village/Swansea, Bloor West Village/High Park and Rosedale. The pale blue on the average length of pregnancy map, showing somewhat shorter pregnancies, very roughly tracks the check-mark shape of low-income areas in Toronto.

Here are the top 10:

L1Y	North Pickering	3572.18
L0C	Scugog	3555.28
L7B	King City	3525.37
L1B	Newcastle	3514.13
M5C	Yonge/King/Jarvis/Queen	3507.41
L0H	North Pickering	3506.4
L1E	Courtice	3501.35
L0P	Campbellville and area	3495.75
L9P	Uxbridge	3495.34
L0B	E Scugog	3487.62

and the bottom 10:

L3S	14th Ave/Markham Rd in Markham	3214.52
M1L	Oakridge/Clairlea (southeast Scarborough)	3213.59
L5C	Erindale	3209.99
M4A	Victoria Village	3203.64
M1X	NE Scarborough	3202.71
L4T	Malton	3199.48
M1C	SE Scarborough	3196.52
M3N	Jane/Finch	3193.44
M5G	Yonge/College/University/Queen	3189.46
M1G	Golfdale Gardens (Golf Club Rd/Lawrence)	3188.11

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As with the birth weight map, the outer 905 has longer average pregnancies, along with some neighbourhoods in the central city: the downtown condos, Rosedale, Bloor West Village/Swansea, Bloor West Village/High Park and the U of T area.  

Here are the top 10:

M5H	North of downtown financial district	39.55
M5V	West downtown, Niagara	39.29
L1Y	North Pickering	39.27
M5J	Lakeshore condos/Island	39.26
M4W	Rosedale	39.15
M5C	Yonge/King/Jarvis/Queen	39.15
L0C	Scugog	39.13
L6K	SW Oakville	39.13
M6P	Bloor West Village/High Park	39.11
L0H	North Pickering	39.1

and the bottom 10:

M2L	E York Mills	38.49
M6L	401/Jane/Lawrence/CNR	38.48
L6Y	SW Brampton	38.47
M1E	West Hill/Guildwood	38.47
M3L	W Downsview	38.47
M3B	Bridle Path/Don Mills	38.45
L1Z	Ajax	38.44
L1L	NE Oshawa	38.42
L0J	Kleinburg	38.28
M1C	SE Scarborough	38.28

Map(s) of the Week: Childbirth, week 1

TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR

Map: Average age of mother, 2007

Map: Average age of father/other parent, 2007

Map: Parental age difference, 2007

This week begins a four-part series on childbirth in the GTA. (It will be followed by a shorter series on death.)

The information comes from data I bought from the Office of the Registrar-General, which was taken from the Statement of Live Birth form (.pdf) which is filled out when a child is born in Ontario. 

All the maps are based on the first three characters of the postal code of the mother, and show data from 2007, the most recent year available.

This week's maps look at parental age at birth: average age of mother, average age of father/other parent, and the average age difference.

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First, the average age of mothers (map).These are not necessarily first births, just births occurring in 2007.

The map itself shows a striking pattern, with high maternal ages in a belt between Yonge and Leslie south of the 401, and low maternal ages in another belt to the west roughly between Keele and Weston Road and northwest into Rexdale. In Peel, maternal ages are higher along the Mississauga waterfront, lower away from the lakeshore, and lower still in Brampton.

Here are the top ten neighbourhoods for average maternal age:

M8X	The Kingsway	35.19
M4G	Leaside	34.54
M4N	Lawrence Park	34.29
M4V	Casa Loma/southern Forest Hill	34.29
M4T	Moore Park	34.22
M3B	Bridle Path/Don Mills	34.09
M4R	Lytton Park	34.05
M4W	Rosedale	34.03
M2P	York Ridge/St. Andrew’s	34.02
L6J	Southeast Oakville	33.81

and the lowest 10:

M9M	Weston	29.1
L4T	Malton	29.07
M3N	Jane-Finch	29.06
L6W	South-central Brampton	29.01
M6M	Keelesdale/Mount Dennis	28.95
L6T	Bramalea	28.92
L0E	Georgina Township/Sutton	28.84
L1G	North-central Oshawa	28.44
L1H	Southeastern Oshawa	27.74
L1J	Southwestern Oshawa	27.65

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The average age of father/other parent map shows a strikingly similar pattern.

Eight out of the top ten areas for father/other parent age are also on the table we just saw, with M8X (The Kingsway) topping both lists. The same three Oshawa neighbourhoods are on the bottom of both lists, in the same order:

M8X	The Kingsway	38.08
M3B	Bridle Path/Don Mills	37.13
M4W	Rosedale	36.87
M2P	York Ridge/St. Andrew’s	36.68
M4N	Lawrence Park	36.68
L0J	Kleinburg	36.6
M4T	Moore Park	36.59
L6J	Southeast Oakville	36.44
M4V	Casa Loma/southern Forest Hill	36.43
M6R	High Park/Roncesvalles	36.37

Here are the lowest 10:

L1K	Northeastern Oshawa	32.24
M3K	East Downsview	32.03
L1E	Courtice	32.01
L4P	Georgina Township/Keswick	31.74
L0E	Georgina Township/Sutton	31.5
L1C	Bowmanville	31.32
M5H	North of downtown financial district	31
L1G	North-central Oshawa	30.79
L1H	Southeastern Oshawa	30.61
L1J	Southwestern Oshawa	30.49

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The map of parental age difference does show a pattern, in that there is a cluster of low age difference in the north-central part of the city, and high age differences concentrated in the northwest, the east downtown and Thorncliffe Park, and much of Scarborough. The 905 is more uniform.

In all 194 GTA postal areas, the average age of the father was higher than the average age of the mother.

Here are the highest 10:

M4H	Thorncliffe Park	5.97
M3N	Jane-Finch	4.95
M9R	Willowridge/The Westway/Richview (E of 401/427)	4.91
M1L	Oakridge/Clairlea (southeast Scarborough)	4.9
L5K	Mississauga, Dundas and Winston Churchill	4.87
M1G	Golfdale Gardens (Golf Club Rd/Lawrence)	4.77
M6M	Keelesdale/Mount Dennis	4.71
M1P	Scarborough Town Centre	4.67
M4X	St. Jamestown	4.65
M3J	Keele/Finch	4.64

and the lowest 10:

L1C	Bowmanville	2.02
L1K	Northeastern Oshawa	1.98
L7P	Northwest Burlington	1.96
M3K	East Downsview	1.95
M4R	Lytton Park	1.86
L1Y	North Pickering	1.82
M4G	Leaside	1.75
L0P	Campbellville and area	1.64
L1M	Rural north Whitby	1.58
M5H	North of downtown financial district	0.91