Cesarean delivery in the United States 2005 through 2014: a population-based analysis using the Robson 10-Group...

Cesarean delivery has increased steadily in the United States over recent decades with significant downstream health consequences. The World Health Organization has endorsed the Robson 10-Group Classification System as a global standard to facilitate analysis and comparison of cesarean delivery rates.

Our objective was to apply the Robson 10-Group Classification System to a nationwide cohort in the United States over a 10-year period.

This population-based analysis applied the Robson 10-Group Classification System to all births in the United States from 2005 through 2014, recorded in the 2003 revised birth certificate format. Over the study 10-year period, 27,044,217 deliveries met inclusion criteria. Five parameters (parity including previous cesarean, gestational age, labor onset, fetal presentation, and plurality), identifiable on presentation for delivery, were used to classify all women included into 1 of 10 groups.

The overall cesarean rate was 31.6%. Group-3 births (singleton, term, cephalic multiparas in spontaneous labor) were most common, while group-5 births (those with a previous cesarean) accounted for the most cesarean deliveries increasing from 27% of all cesareans in 2005 through 2006 to >34% in 2013 through 2014. Breech pregnancies (groups 6 and 7) had cesarean rates >90%. Primiparous and multiparous women who had a prelabor cesarean (groups 2b and 4b) accounted for over one quarter of all cesarean deliveries.

Women with a previous cesarean delivery represent an increasing proportion of cesarean deliveries. Use of the Robson criteria allows standardized comparisons of data and identifies clinical scenarios driving changes in cesarean rates. Hospitals and health organizations can use the Robson 10-Group Classification System to evaluate quality and processes associated with cesarean delivery.