The connection between race and type of delivery has been an increasing public health concern for many years. It is significant because cesarean deliveries are more risky for both mother and baby. This research project analyzes the association between race and type of delivery among women in the United States. We used data (2017-2018 cycle) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine race and type of delivery and the confounding variables age, BMI, smoking usage, drug usage, alcohol usage, education level, and poverty-to-income ratio. NHANES monitors the overall health and nutrition of adolescents and adults in the United States. Due to our study focusing on the mode of delivery, men, those unable to give birth, and any unreported or unknown data were excluded from the sample. An odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval, frequencies, and a chi-square test was calculated for each variable. There were two categories for our outcome group. The frequency of vaginal deliveries was 487 (52%), and the frequency of cesarean was 450 (48%). There were four race categories for our exposure groups. Hispanic (1) had a frequency of 225 (24.01%), non-Hispanic White (2) had a frequency of 303 (32.34%), non-Hispanic Black (3) had a frequency of 250 (26.68%), and Asian or other race (4) had a frequency of 159 (16.97%). The OR for each exposure group was calculated, with non-Hispanic Whites being the reference group. Hispanic was 1.09(0.77-1.53), non-Hispanic Black was 0.76(0.54-1.06), and Asian or other races was 0.71(0.48-1.04). Due to our small sample size, our findings were not significant. However, results from previous literature have shown that there is an association between race and delivery type. While our results were not significant due to our sample size, it is still an important public health concern that needs to be further investigated.
Author(s): Cori Milburn, Zoology and Sustainability Major
Advisor(s): Tereza Jezkova, Department of Biology
Alfredo Ascanio-Moreno, Department of Biology
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