U.S. Cesarean Rate is Dropping, According to the CDC

Nov 22, 2011
Brenda Lane

Cesarean and preterm births decline in 2010 - Tommo4074 by Flickr Photos

For the first time in over a decade, birth statistics from 2010 indicate that the cesarean rate was down. Also on the decline were preterm and teen births.

The cesarean rate in the U.S. has climbed steadily since 1996, much to the dismay of both expectant parents and medical care providers alike. For the first time, we now may be seeing a drop in the cesarean rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Researchers also found a reduction in the number of teen and preterm births according preliminary data from 2010.

Birth Statistics Show Drop in Cesareans

A recent CDC report released in November 2011 published preliminary birth statistics for the year 2010 in the U.S. Among some of the most noteworthy changes is that the cesarean rate has dropped from 32.9% in 2009 to 32.8% in 2010. Researchers report that this was the first downward trend in the national cesarean rate for over a decade.

The biggest decrease in the cesarean rate was among non-Hispanic white women. In this group, the cesarean rate was 32.6% in 2010.

Decrease in Preterm Birth, No Change in Low Birthweight

The CDC report also showed that the rate of preterm deliveries in the U.S. decreased in 2010. In 2010, the rate of preterm birth was 11.99%, down from 12.18% in 2009. The rate of preterm births has consistently dropped over the previous 4 years.

Despite the fewer number of preterm births today, CDC researchers explain that the statistics are still higher than they ought to be. In fact, the rate of preterm births is still higher than any year from 1981 to 2001.

Researchers found that the number of low birthweight babies remained virtually unchanged from 2009 at 8.16% to 8.15% in 2010.

Births to Teens Hits All-Time Low

Married women, unmarried women and teens all had fewer births in 2010 according to the report. The overall rate of births declined by about 3% from 2009 to 2010. In fact, the group wit the most dramatic change was with Hispanic women who had 5% fewer births last year. The only group that showed an increase in births was women ages 40-44.

The number of teens having babies is also on the decline, according to the CDC report. In fact, the rate of teen births reached an all-time low of 34.3 per one thousand teens between the ages of 15-19. This was the lowest rate ever recorded since 1946 and continues a three year decline in the number of teens giving birth in the U.S..

Births in general showed a steady decrease among several racial groups, including a 7% drop among Hispanics, 3% among Black women and 2% among white women.

The number of births among unmarried women fell for the second year in a row. in 2008, 51.8 births per 1,000 occurred to unmarried women. The rate then fell in 2009 to 49.9 births per 1,000. In 2010 the rate fell to 47.7 births per 1,000 unmarried women.

The report Births: Preliminary Data for 2010 is published by the National Vital Statistics System.