Perineal status
Perineal status refers to the state of the perineum after vaginal birth. Perineal status is categorised as intact, first degree laceration, second degree laceration, third or fourth degree laceration, episiotomy or other type of perineal laceration, rupture or tear. An episiotomy is an incision of the perineum and vagina to enlarge the vulval orifice. Data are specific to women who gave birth vaginally.
The rate of women who gave birth vaginally and had an intact perineum has been decreasing since 2014 (from 25 per 100 women who gave birth vaginally in 2014 to 18 per 100 in 2023).
In 2023, where the perineum was not intact, second degree lacerations were most common (32 per 100), followed by first degree lacerations (24 per 100). Only a small proportion of women had a third or fourth degree laceration (2.7 per 100).
Figure 1 presents trend data on the perineal status of women who gave birth vaginally, by selected maternal characteristics, between 2014 and 2023. Select the ‘Current data’ button to view 2023 data.
Figure 1: Proportion of women who gave birth vaginally, by perineal status and selected topic
Bar chart shows perineal status by selected topics and a line graph shows topic trends between 2014 and 2023.
Nearly 1 in 4 (23 per 100) mothers had an episiotomy, noting that women could be recorded as having both an episiotomy and some degree of laceration.
Rates of episiotomy and intact perineum differed by maternal country of birth when compared with the rates of all mothers who gave birth in Australia. For example, mothers born in Nepal (48 per 100) and India (45 per 100) had higher rates of episiotomy than all mothers (23 per 100); mothers born in Nepal (5.7 per 100) and India (5.8 per 100) also had lower rates of intact perineum than all mothers (18 per 100).
Internationally, compared to the average for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2021 (or nearest year), the rate of third- and fourth-degree lacerations in Australia in 2020 was:
- higher for non-instrumental vaginal births (2.2 per 100 compared with 1.4 per 100)
- lower for instrumental vaginal births (5.5 per 100 compared 5.7 per 100) (OECD 2023).
Variation between countries is likely to be affected by differences in clinical practice and reporting (ACSQHC 2017).
For more information on:
- perineal status by state and territory, see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data table 2.47
- perineal status by selected maternal characteristics, see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data visualisations table 4.8
- related National Core Maternity Indicators, see Episiotomy and Third and fourth degree tears.
ACSQHC (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care) (2017) The second Australian atlas of healthcare variation, ACSQHC, accessed 3 January 2018.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2023) Health at a glance 2023: OECD indicators, OECD, accessed 25 May 2024.