Mode of Delivery by Maternal Characteristics: The Case of C-sections in Slovakia

Abstract

This study focuses on mode of delivery by maternal characteristics such as age, education, marital status, region, and mode of previous delivery. We use microdata provided by the Ministry of Health and find that the likelihood of a C-section increases with the age of the mother, but a previous natural delivery weakens this association. Women who are married more often give birth by planned C-section. Emergency C-sections occur more often among unmarried women. Women in the Trenčín region more often deliver spontaneously, and women in the Bratislava and Nitra regions more often deliver by C-section. Due to the early onset of fertility, women with primary education more often deliver spontaneously. Women with secondary education under the age of 35 more often deliver by planned C-section than university-educated women. Our results are policy-relevant for further decision-making and planning in obstetrics and gynaecology in Slovakia, especially by pinpointing the different risk categories in terms of maternal education or marital status by mother’s age.