MORE than 80 per cent of women who gave birth at two private hospitals in St George and Sutherland Shire in 2010 had an epidural, figures showed.
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Data outlining pain relief administered during labour was contained in the most recent snapshot of births in NSW.
The NSW Mothers and Babies Report 2010 showed 82.7 per cent of births at Kareena Private Hospital at Caringbah involved an epidural — the highest rate in NSW.
It was well above the state average of 46.5 per cent of births at all NSW hospitals and 68.4 per cent at the state's private hospitals.
Epidurals were used in 80.7 per cent of births at St George Private Hospital in 2010 and 73.3 per cent of births at Hurstville Community (now Hurstville Private).
Public hospitals in the region had much lower epidural rates that year.
At St George Hospital, 44.3 per cent of births involved an epidural while at Sutherland Hospital, the epidural rate was 37.7 per cent.
The Leader's analysis of the figures followed the release of a report last month that showed natural childbirth rates continued to drop across Australia, with surgical interventions, including caesareans and births involving instruments, on the rise.
The national core maternity indicators report included data for the period from 2004 to 2009 across 10 clinical indicators, including rates of caesareans and induction of labour.
It found rates of induction, caesarean and vaginal birth involving instruments had risen over the five-year period while normal vaginal birth rates dropped.
Kareena Private Hospital also topped the state when it came to elective caesareans, with 34.5 per cent of women giving birth by that means in 2010. The elective caesarean rate was 29.5 per cent at St George Private and 25 per cent at Hurstville Community.
