Cesarean section (C-section) deliveries have higher risks of severe complications than vaginal deliveries, and Arkansas has one of the highest C-section rates in the United States. Identifying variations in C-section rates and the maternal and prenatal characteristics associated with them could enable reductions in potentially avoidable C-sections.
In this research brief, Arkansas Department of Health birth certificate data from 2019 through 2021 were used to estimate associations between maternal sociodemographic, health, and healthcare factors — including hospital of delivery — and Arkansas first-time mothers who had C-sections for low-risk deliveries.
Key Findings
- More than 1 in 4 (27.5%) low-risk deliveries for first-time mothers in Arkansas were via cesarean section, or C-section.
- Black first-time mothers were 28% more likely to have a C-section in Arkansas than White first-time mothers for low-risk deliveries.
- Among first-time mothers, overweight mothers and mothers with severe obesity were 46% and 200% more likely, respectively, to have a C-section during a low-risk delivery compared to first-time mothers with a normal weight.
- The probability of a first-time mother with a low-risk delivery having a C-section ranged from 9% to 28%, depending on the hospital where the delivery occurred.