Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cesarean Birth Trends in the United States

In the United States, what are the recent trends and disparities in cesarean birth by race and ethnicity, stratified by parity?This cohort study included 30 014 020 births and found that the rates of primary cesarean birth among non-Hispanic Black individuals increased compared with individuals from other racial and ethnic groups in 2012; this disparity widened from 2012 to 2021.These findings suggest that systemic racism in obstetrics continues to shape trends in cesarean births and must be addressed directly by quality improvement efforts to safely prevent unnecessary cesarean births.

Corresponding Author: Marie J. Boller, MD, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health and Science University, Mailcode L-458, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR 97239-3098 (boller@ohsu.edu; mariejboller@gmail.com).

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