ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2019
Evidence of overuse? Patterns of obstetric interventions during labour and birth among Australian mothers.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Midwifery Students' Definitions of Normal Labor and Birth: A Study From Five Countries.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2026Article
- Views of healthcare providers on the provision of continuous care during labour by maternity care assistants in the Netherlands: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Maternal region of birth and stillbirth trends in Victoria, Australia, 2012-2019: a cohort study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- A five-country comparison of midwifery students' confidence in facilitating normal labor and birth.European journal of midwifery · 2025Article
- Does financing for private maternity services improve birth experiences in Poland? A mixed-methods study of the Babies Born Better Survey.European journal of midwifery · 2024Article
- Patterns of Labour Interventions and Associated Maternal Biopsychosocial Factors in Australia: a Path Analysis.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2023Article
- Towards a mother-centred maternal health promotion.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- Value in maternal care: Using the Learning Health System to facilitate action.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2022Article
- Development of a co-designed, evidence-based, multi-pronged strategy to support normal birth.The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology · 2022Article
- Characteristics and co-admissions of mothers and babies admitted to residential parenting services in the year following birth in NSW: a linked population data study (2000-2012).BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- Ten-year time trends in preterm birth during a sociodemographic transition period: a retrospective cohort study in Shenzhen, China.BMJ open · 2020Article
- The match between need and use of health services among healthy under-fives in Denmark: A register-based national cohort study.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is global concern for the overuse of obstetric interventions during labour and birth. Of particular concern is the increasing amount of mothers and babies experiencing morbidity and mortality associated with caesarean section compared to vaginal birth. In high-income settings, emerging evidence suggests that overuse of obstetric intervention is more prevalent among wealthier mothers with no medical need of it. In Australia, the rates of caesarean section and other obstetric interventions are rising. These rising rates of intervention have been mirrored by a decreasing rate of unassisted non-instrumental vaginal deliveries. In the context of rising global concern about rising caesarean section rates and the known health effects of caesarean section on mothers and children, we aim to better characterise the use of obstetric intervention in the state of Queensland, Australia by examining the characteristics of mothers receiving obstetric intervention. Identifying whether there is overuse of obstetric interventions within a population is critical to improving the quality, value and appropriateness of maternity care.
methodsThe association between demographic characteristics (at birth) and birth delivery type were compared with chi-square. The percentage of mothers based on their socioeconomic characteristics were reported and differences in percentages of obstetric interventions were compared. Multivariate analysis was undertaken using multiple logistic regression to assess the likelihood of receiving obstetric intervention and having a vaginal (non-instrumental) delivery after accounting for key clinical characteristics.
resultsIndigenous mothers, mothers in major cities and mothers in the wealthiest quintile all had higher percentages of all obstetric interventions and had the lowest percentages of unassisted (non-instrumental) vaginal births. These differences remained even after adjusting for other key sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
conclusionsDifferences in obstetric practice exist between economic, ethnic and geographical groups of mothers that are not attributable to medical or lifestyle risk factors. These differences may reflect health system, organisational and structural conditions and therefore, a better understanding of the non-clinical factors that influence the supply and demand of obstetric interventions is required.
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