Australia is the second most expensive place in the world for women to give birth, a new study has shown.
A survey comprising of 14 developed countries undertaken by the UK medical journal The Lancet shows Australia was lagging behind the United States as the most expensive place to have a baby, the Australian Associated Press reports on Friday.
Figures compiled by The Lancet show that the cost of a caesarean section is estimated at 10,500 thousand U.S. dollars in Australia, which was only 5,000 thousand U.S. dollars cheaper than in America.
A vaginal birth in Australia cost 6,775 thousand U.S. dollars, while in America, it was 10,232 thousand U.S. dollars.
While 68 percent of Australian women are known to deliver their babies via a vaginal birth, just over 32 percent have a caesarean section which was the highest rate among the 14 countries in the survey.
Another two percent of Australian mums have their babies in a birth centre, and fewer than one percent give birth at home.
The report said while high income countries including Australia had taken many steps to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates, the cost of maternity care could be high and medical liability cost "enormous".
"Although mortality is generally low, the picture is far from perfect," the journal said.
"In some settings, fear prevails among subsets of women and providers, driving increased and inappropriate intervention."
Most women in high income countries deliver their babies in hospital, regardless of whether they have low or high-risk pregnancies, the report said.
The report noted that while hospitals were well set up to cater towards high-risk women, they weren't always optimal for low-risk mums-to-be who were subjected to more interventions, such as caesarean sections and inductions of labour, than was necessary for most.
As a result, maternity care costs can escalate and some mums and newborns can face complications.
"Cost increases over time are largely attributed to use of interventions," the report said.
Australia was also found to be the second-highest rate of women over 35 giving birth (23 percent) compared to nearly 35 percent in Spain.
Older Australian mums accounted for 40 percent of the total maternal deaths across the country.