How many births are by C-section? About one-third of all births in the U.S.

Trends in birth by cesarean section are tracked by the National Center for Health Statistics.  In this brief report, you can view a graph showing the trend from 1990 to 2013.  Over this period, the percent of c-sections hit a low in the mid-’90s at around 22 percent of all births and then started climbing, peaking at just under 33 percent in 2009.  Looking at racial characteristics, non-Hispanic black women have the highest c-section rates — just under 36 percent.

This report on births in 2013 also shows that the overall number of births has been declining for 6 years now.  Looking at trends by age, the birth rate is rising for women over 30 and falling for younger women.

Source: Martin, J.A., Hamilton, B.E., and Osterman, M.J.K. (2014, Dec.). Births in the United States, 2013. NCHS Data Brief, 175. Click here for access to this free government document: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db175.pdf Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org