ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Infants delivered early for non-medical reasons are at increased risk of poor birth outcomes. Trends and associated health outcomes were unexamined in Mississippi. OBJECTIVE: Determine elective delivery trends and impacts on infant mortality. METHODS: Identify cesarean deliveries and inductions without medical indications from birth certificate records linked with death certificate records. Assess differences in death rates between those born electively during 37 and 38 weeks compared to 39 weeks gestation. RESULTS: Early elective delivery rates increased significantly (p < .01) from 8.5% in 2001 to a peak of 17.8% in 2008. The rate began to decline in 2008 and was 16.5% in 2011. Neonates born electively before 39 weeks gestation had three-fold higher death rates [2.1 per 1,000] than neonates born at 39 weeks gestation [0.6 per 1,000], a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: Early elective deliveries in Mississippi are associated with increased infant mortality. Reducing this common practice could improve birth outcomes in the state.
