The number of caesarean section births is continuing to rise, according to data presented in a new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Professor Michael Chapman, Head of the School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW, said that of all women who gave birth in 2003, the majority (60.3%) had a spontaneous vaginal birth, but that caesarean sections were still increasing.
The report, Australia's Mothers and Babies 2003, prepared by AIHW's National Perinatal Statistics Unit (NPSU), shows that in that year, 28.5% of mothers had a caesarean section delivery, compared with 19.4% in 1994.
Of caesarean sections in 2003, 57.9% were without labour, while 41.9% were with labour.
'Caesarean section rates tend to be higher among older mothers and those admitted to private hospitals,' Professor Chapman said.
For women who gave birth in hospitals, 37.4% of those in private hospitals had a caesarean section compared with 25.7% of those in public hospitals.
Caesarean sections were less frequent among Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers; 23.3% of whom delivered by caesarean section, compared with 28.8% of other mothers.
Among mothers who had given birth previously, 23.1% had previously had a caesarean section. The majority of these mothers (81.4%) had another caesarean section in 2003.
Caesarean section deliveries were common for babies with breech presentations at birth. Of these babies, 87.3% were delivered by caesarean section.
Over the period 1994-2003, instrumental deliveries, including forceps and vacuum extraction deliveries, decreased from 11.7% to 10.7%.