Table 1.
Summary Statistics of Patients by Delivery Modes, 1996–2004*
| Variables | All Births | Vaginal Delivery (DRG=0373A) | C-Section (DRG=0371A) | CDMR (DRG=0373B) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social demographic variables | ||||
| Age (SD) | 28.15 (4.86) | 27.55 (4.73) | 29.63 (4.81) | 29.07 (5.16) |
| Wage (SD) | 17,229.22 (16,301.26) | 17,071.82 (16,182.48) | 17,353.54 (16,350.62) | 17,947.48 (17,446.45) |
| Institutional characteristics | ||||
| Bed size (SD) | 489.21 (756.45) | 474.53 (741.26) | 482.69 (755.18) | 391.82 (658.89) |
| Ownership | ||||
| Public (%) | 307,572 (13.72%) | 203, 280 (13.48%) | 100,074 (14.43%) | 4,218 (10.36%) |
| Private nonprofit (%) | 632,443 (28.21%) | 430,669 (28.56%) | 192,341 (27.74%) | 9,433 (23.16%) |
| Proprietary (%) | 1,301,965 (58.07%) | 873,813 (57.96%) | 401,077 (57.83%) | 27,075 (66.48%) |
| Accreditation status | ||||
| Medical center (%) | 311,422 (13.89%) | 206,992 (13.73%) | 98,912 (14.26%) | 5,518 (13.55%) |
| Regional hospital (%) | 484,075 (21.59%) | 334,758 (22.20%) | 142,808 (20.60%) | 6,509 (15.98%) |
| District hospital (%) | 632,326 (28.20%) | 419,879 (27.85%) | 199,946 (28.83%) | 12,501 (30.70%) |
| Clinic (%) | 814,157 (36.32%) | 546,133 (36.22%) | 251,826 (36.31%) | 16,198 (39.77%) |
| Teaching status | ||||
| Teaching (%) | 987,515 (44.05%) | 661,572 (43.88%) | 309,998 (44.70%) | 15,945 (39.15%) |
| Nonteaching (%) | 1,254,465 (55.95%) | 846,190 (56.12%) | 383,494 (55.30%) | 24,781 (60.85%) |
| Ob/gyn characteristics | ||||
| Ob/gyn gender (SD) (0 if female; 1 if male) | 0.94 (0.24) | 0.93 (0.25) | 0.94 (0.25) | 0.95 (0.22) |
| Ob/gyn age (SD) | 39.49 (1.88) | 39.47 (1.88) | 39.52 (1.91) | 39.53 (1.74) |
| Complications in c-section | ||||
| Fetal distress (%) | 54,670 (2.44%) | 5,761 (0.38%) | 48,276 (6.81%) | 633 (1.55%) |
| Dystocia (%) | 194,877 (8.69%) | 15,430 (1.02%) | 176,918 (25.51%) | 2,529 (6.21%) |
| Breech (%) | 136,817 (6.10%) | 2,614 (0.17%) | 133,516 (19.25%) | 687 (1.69%) |
| Others (%) | 203,273 (9.07%) | 87,837 (5.83%) | 112,592 (16.24%) | 2,844 (6.98%) |
| Previous c-section (%)† | 313,812 (14.00%) | 6,197 (0.41%) | 304,262 (43.87%) | 3,353 (8.23%) |
| Observations | 2,241,980 | 1,507,762 | 693,492 | 40,726 |
*
Following Lin and Xirasagar (2004), Lin et al. (2004), Xirasagar, Lin, and Liu (2006), Lin, Xirasagar, and Liu (2007), Xirasagar and Lin (2007), Liu, Chen, and Lin (2008), Lin, Hu, and Lin (2008), and Liu et al. (2008), deliveries without a DRG code in NHIRD (totally 38,507 cases) were excluded in all analyses.
†
History of previous c-section was reported only for women who had had more than one delivery.
CDMR, cesarean deliveries on maternal request; c-section, cesarean section; DRG, diagnosis-related groups; NHIRD, National Health Insurance Research Database; Ob/gyn, obstetrician and gynecologist.