National Core Maternity Indicators

The National Core Maternity Indicators (NCMIs) associated with labour and birth present information on measures of clinical activity and outcomes between 2004 and 2020.

Data for each indicator are presented by jurisdiction of birth, and at the national level by hospital annual number of births, hospital sector, and mother’s Indigenous status. Some indicators are presented by remoteness of residence, disadvantage quintile and other data groupings where relevant.

Selected women

Selected women include those aged between 20 and 34 years, whose baby’s gestational age at birth was between 37 and 40 completed weeks, with a singleton baby in the vertex presentation.

Comparison of ‘selected’ groups of women allows for an indication of standard practice. Selected women, for this indicator, refers to a cohort of mothers who are expected to have reduced labour complications and better birth outcomes. However, this cohort may include women with other medical and obstetric complications such as hypertensive disorders, diabetes and obesity. The proportion of selected women is approximately one-quarter (26%) of all women who gave birth in 2020.

During labour and birth:

• In 2020, the most common birth method for selected women giving birth for the first time was a non-instrumental vaginal birth (42%), followed by caesarean section (32%) and instrumental vaginal birth (26%).
• The proportion of selected first-time mothers for whom labour was induced increased from 26% in 2004 to 46% in 2020.
• For selected women giving birth for the first time, non-instrumental vaginal births decreased (53% to 42%) while instrumental vaginal births increased (23% to 26%) between 2004 and 2020.
• The proportion of caesarean sections in selected first-time mothers increased from 1 in 4 women (25%) in 2004 to 1 in 3 (32%) in 2020.
• In 2020, nearly one quarter of women (24%) giving birth for the first time received an episiotomy in a non-instrumental vaginal birth, an increase from 16% in 2004.
• A little more than 4 in 5 women (82%) giving birth for the first time received an episiotomy in an instrumental vaginal birth in 2020, an increase from 61% in 2004.
• In 2020, around 1 in 20 (5.3%) women who had a caesarean section birth had general anaesthetic, a decrease from 2007 (8.2%).
• In 2020, around 1 in 8 women (12%) had their second birth vaginally after having their first birth by caesarean section, a proportion which has remained relatively stable since 2007.

Note: Selected women include those aged between 20 and 34 years, whose baby’s gestational age at birth was between 37 and 40 completed weeks, with a singleton baby in the vertex presentation.