Table 2.

Birth characteristics and outcomes among primiparas at low risk. Values are percentages

Birth characteristics and outcomes	Private patients		Public patients (all hospitals) (n=20 354)
	Private hospitals (n=6548)	Public hospitals (n=4798)
Maternal age (years)*:
20-24	10.6	16.3	40.6
25-29	48.9	47.0	40.0
30-34	40.6	36.7	19.3
Type of labour*:
Spontaneous	47.0	54.1	63.8
Augmented	23.1	21.8	19.7
Induced	25.7	21.1	15.7
No labour	4.1	2.9	1.4
Delivery*:
Vaginal	49.7	60.0	72.6
Forceps	22.5	15.0	10.5
Vacuum	11.4	11.1	6.8
Caesarean section before labour	4.1	2.9	1.5
Caesarean section after labour	12.3	10.9	8.5
Epidural*	50.8	35.2	25.1
Episiotomy*†	46.6	39.8	28.6
Third degree tear*†	1.4	1.8	2.3
Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes*	1.3	1.0	1.8

^*Distribution of these factors significantly different (P<0.001) among three groups with χ² tests. 

^†Among vaginal births.