Socioeconomic Determinants of Planned and Emergency Cesarean Section Births in Mexico

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 9. Marginalization in Pregnancy and Motherhood

Abstract

Like many countries in Latin America, Mexico has experienced a rapid increase in Cesarean section (C section) births in the past twenty years. Existing research has highlighted that where a woman delivers her child as well as her socioeconomic status shape the likelihood of having a C-section birth. However, much of this research is from outside of Mexico or relies on data limited to one geographic setting. In addition, C-section births are typically not differentiated according to whether they were planned earlier in pregnancy or emergency C-sections initiated while a woman was in labor. In this study, we examine the socioeconomic determinants of planned and emergency C-section births using nationally representative data from the 2014 La Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica Demográfica (ENADID) for women who experienced their first birth within the past five years (N=8,373). We use multinomial logistic regression with vaginal births as the base for comparison. Of the births in our sample, 48.9 percent of the births were vaginal, 18.6 were planned Cesarean, and 32.5 were emergency Cesarean section. Our multivariate findings indicate the salient influence of socioeconomic status and birth location on planned, but not emergency C-sections. We contextualize these findings using a fundamental causes of disease perspective when looking at the adaption of this health technology and its implications on maternal and child health.

Authors

• Heather B Edelblute, West Chester University

• Claire E. Altman, University of Missouri

• Evan Stout, West Chester University