QuickStats: Rate of Cesarean Delivery, by Maternal Prepregnancy Body Mass Index Category* — United States, 2020
Weekly / December 3, 2021 / 70(48);1686
Abbreviation: BMI = body mass index.
* BMI = weight (kg)/height (m2). BMI categories are underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5–24.9), overweight (25.0–29.9), obesity class I (30.0–34.9), obesity class II (35.0–35.9), and obesity class III (≥40.0).
In 2020, 31.8% of live births were to women who had a cesarean delivery. The rate of cesarean delivery was lowest for women who were underweight before pregnancy (20.7%); the rate rose steadily as BMI increased to obesity class III (52.3%). One quarter (25.1%) of women of normal weight had a cesarean delivery.
Sources: National Vital Statistics System, natality file. https://wonder.cdc.gov/natality-expanded-current.html; Defining adult overweight and obesity. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html#:~:text=Class%203%3A%20BMI%20of%2040%20or%20higher.%20Class,body%20fatness%20or%20the%20health%20of%20an%20individual
Reported by: Isabelle Horon, DrPH, ibh3@cdc.gov, 301-458-4555.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Rate of Cesarean Delivery, by Maternal Prepregnancy Body Mass Index Category — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1686. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a7external icon.
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