C-Section Rates Up Again and Teen Birth Rates Fall

Today the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released the preliminary birth data from 2009.  The highlights include:

• 32.9% c-section rate.
  This is a rise of 2% from 2008. The c-section rate has risen 60% since 1996. It rose in all age and race groups, but had the greatest rise in non-Hispanic black women.

• Teen births were 39.1 births per 1,000 teenagers.
  Teen births decline of about 4% from 2008 data. The birth rate for the 10-14 year old range fell to its lowest rate ever.

• Birth rate to unmarried mothers (15-44 years) was 50.6 per 1,000.
  This number fell 4% from 2008. This is the first decrease since 1996-1997.

This data is based on birth certificate data for the births in 2009. One problem with some of the data is that not all states use the same birth certificate forms. This is why the data is considered preliminary. The final birth data for 2009 will come out within the next year, though there are relatively few changes typically.

Related:

• Teen Pregnancy
• Telling Your Parents You're Pregnant as a Teen
• Giving Birth by C-section
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Information (VBAC)
• VBAC Birth Stories
• VBAC eCourse
• Preventing Unnecessary Cesareans
• C-Section eCourse