The number of women who gave birth by caesarean section at less than (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days) gestation, (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days) gestation, without adequate obstetric/medical indication and where there was no established labour, divided by the number of women who gave birth by caesarean section at less than (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days) gestation, (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days) gestation, and where there was no established labour, and multiplied by 100.

A birth is defined as the event in which a baby comes out of the uterus after a pregnancy of at least 20 weeks gestation or weighing 400 grams or more.

Births included are caesarean deliveries (where there was no established labour) at less than (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days), (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days).

'Without adequate obstetric/medical indication' includes the following reasons for caesarean section:

• previous caesarean section
• previous severe perineal trauma
• previous shoulder dystocia
•  maternal choice in the absence of any obstetric, medical, surgical, psychological indications

Births excluded are:

• caesarean deliveries at or after (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days) gestation, (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days) gestation 
• where there was established labour
• all vaginal deliveries
• those delivered pre-term by caesarean section (where there was no established labour) with obstetric/medical indication (all reasons for caesarean section other than those listed previously)

Cells of less than 5 have been suppressed. This is the lowest level of suppression that all states and territories have agreed to for the release of data from the National Perinatal Data Collection.            

Proportions have been suppressed where the denominator is less than 100, for reliability purposes.   

100 x (Numerator ÷ Denominator)

The number of women who gave birth by caesarean section at less than (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days) gestation, (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days) gestation, without adequate obstetric/medical indication and where there was no established labour.

The number of women who gave birth by caesarean section at less than (i) 39 completed weeks (273 days) gestation, (ii) 37 completed weeks (259 days) gestation, and where there was no established labour.

State or territory of mother's usual residence.

State or territory of mother's usual residence by:

• Indigenous status of mother
• Patient elected accommodation status

Data elements are from the Perinatal National Minimum Data Set (NMDS). Records with data that are missing, not stated or not interpretable have been excluded from the denominator.

The national data collection for this indicator is relatively new in Australia and many states and territories do not yet collect all elements consistent with the national specification. For this reason, the available data used for the Atlas for individual states are not available for publication.

N[NN.N]

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation (2018)

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Women's Healthcare Australasia 2007. Supporting excellence in maternity care: the core maternity indicators project: findings from the core maternity indicators project. Canberra: WHA.