Births by Caesarean section increased to about 32 percent of all U.S. births last year, continuing what has been a small but steady increase for much of the past 25 years, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The center’s findings are based on data from birth certificates registered in all 50 states and D.C. through 2021. It found that the overall rise in C-section births was driven by an increase in the number of first-time (known as “primary”) Caesareans, across all ages and racial groups. Today, about 3 out of 5 women who have a Caesarean delivery have not given birth by Caesarean before. Yet the number of repeat C-sections has decreased somewhat over the past five years.
In a Caesarean birth, the baby is delivered through incisions in the mother’s abdomen and uterus. Sometimes, C-sections are planned; other times, the procedure is used when problems develop during delivery that endanger the health of the mother, the baby or both. Having a C-section does not preclude having a vaginal birth in the future, but most women who give birth for the first time via C-section — more than 4 in 5, according to the CDC report — will also have Caesarean delivery for subsequent births. Because of this, the agency predicts that “the overall cesarean delivery rate is likely to continue to increase.”
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