General anaesthetic for women giving birth by caesarean section

General anaesthetic is a method of providing anaesthesia for caesarean section for which the most common indications include urgency of the operation, when regional anaesthetics are contra-indicated or have failed amongst other factors. For more information, see Clinical commentary.

This indicator examines the proportion of women who received a general anaesthetic when giving birth by caesarean section.

Key findings

  • The proportion of women having a general anaesthetic when giving birth by caesarean section has shown a gradual downward trend between 2007 and 2020.
  • General anaesthetic for women giving birth by caesarean section decreased with age, with the highest proportion occurring in women younger than 20 across all years.
  • Women in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were more likely to have a general anaesthetic than women living in the least disadvantaged areas.
  • Between 2007 and 2020, women were consistently more likely to have a general anaesthetic if they gave birth in a public hospital compared to a private hospital. In 2020, the proportion was 3 times higher in the public (6.8%) versus the private sector (2.1%).

The interactive data visualisation below presents data for women who had a general anaesthetic when giving birth by caesarean section by selected maternal characteristics. Click the Data tables button to view the data between 2007 and 2020 and use the radio buttons to see how each characteristic has changed during this time.

General anaesthetic for women giving birth by caesarean section, by State/territory of birth and all Australia, 2007 to 2020.

This chart shows the proportion of women having a general anaesthetic giving birth by caesarean section, by state/territory of birth, 2007 to 2020.  Data can be viewed for each state/territory of birth, and for all Australia. The proportion of women receiving a general anaesthetic giving birth by caesarean section for all Australia decreased from 8.2% in 2007 to 5.3% in 2020.

Clinical commentary

Regional anaesthesia (or epidural) is the most common method of providing anaesthesia for caesarean section (88%) (AIHW 2022). Regional anaesthesia is safer for mother and baby than general anaesthesia (NICE 2021). When general anaesthesia is used, the most common indications are urgency, maternal refusal of regional techniques, inadequate or failed regional attempts, and regional contraindications including coagulation or spinal abnormalities (Shroff et al. 2004). Obstetric indications, such as placenta praevia, were considered absolute indications for general anaesthesia however, there are now indications that general anaesthesia may not be the only option (McGlennan & Mustafa 2009).

Indicator specifications and data

Excel source data tables are available from the Data tab.

For more information refer to Specifications and notes for analysis in the technical notes.