Complications in cesarean and non-cesarean deliveries: United States, 1980.
Using 1980 National Hospital Discharge Survey data, complications reported for cesarean and non-cesarean deliveries coded by the Ninth Revision ICD-CM are compared. While over 16 per cent of all deliveries in 1980 were by C-section, 94 per cent of the deliveries where maternal-infant disproportion was noted were by C-section, and this complication was noted in one-fourth of all C-section deliveries. Similarly, where malposition or malpresentation of the fetus was evident, 59 per cent of the mothers were delivered by C-section, and this complication was noted in one-sixth of all C-section deliveries. C-sections were also associated with placenta praevia, pre-eclampsia, infections of the genito-urinary tract, anemia, multiple births, and were almost universal for mothers who had had a previous C-section delivery. Competing explanations for the rise in C-sections from 5.5 per cent of deliveries in 1970 to 16.5 per cent in 1980 are discussed in the context of these findings.
D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003625:Data Collection; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009309:National Center for Health Statistics, U.S.; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D014481:United States