Cesarean birth rate rises--again....

Reporting on the rising cesarean rate feels like playing a broken record--that's because it is the tenth year in a row that the National Center for Health Statistics has reported an increase in the cesarean rate. The cesarean section rate rose 4% from 2004 to 2005, with 30.2% of all births occurring by cesarean, the highest rate ever reported for the U.S. This is up from 29.1 percent in 2004. There has been a 46 percent increase in the Caesarean rate since 1996. The rate was only 5 percent in 1970.

Other disturbing trends occurred in rates of preterm birth and babies born at low birth weights. The preterm birth rate, or the percentage of infants born before 37 weeks gestation, increased from 12.5% of all births in 2004 to 12.7% in 2005. The percentage of U.S. babies born at low birth weights rose slightly to 8.2 percent of all births in 2005, with an overall gain of about 20 percent in the past two decades.

Also, the rate of "late preterm" births (34-36 weeks) increased from 8.9% (in 2004) to 9.1% (in 2005). While the report does not mention any connection, it is possible that planned cesareans and early inductions contribute to this kind of prematurity.

Births." Preliminary Data for 2005 is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.