Cesarean Sections and Racial Birth Trauma: A Qualitative Analysis for Obstetric Racism among Black Women in the United States

BACKGROUND: The United States has one of the highest cesarean section (c-sections) rates among high-income countries. Birthing people who self-report as Black women in the United States are not only are three to four times more likely to die from preventable prenatal challenges, but also are the most prevalent racial group to receive either planned or unplanned c-sections. OBJECTIVES: Our initial aim focused on the lived experiences of prenatal care and the variety of birth types among Black women that was analyzed for a prior publication. In this secondary analysis, we noticed there was a large portion of study participants who discussed their perceptions of cesarean births. DESIGN: In this specific analysis and due to c-section prevalence among Black women, we solely focused on the perceptions of c-sections, whether of planned or unplanned mode of delivery. METHODS: We analyzed interviews from 25 women in the South Florida region of the United States who had at least one recent pregnancy and/or birth of a living child (