Table 1.
Women’s background characteristics and use of prenatal care by delivery mode (%)
| Description | Total | Vaginal delivery | CS a total | CS without clinical indication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Number of women) | (263) | (112) | (151) | (104) |
| Age group | ||||
| <25 | 10.2 | 9.2 | 11.0 | 13.7 |
| 25-29 | 52.9 | 53.2 | 52.7 | 50.0 |
| 30-34 | 30.6 | 34.9 | 27.4 | 28.4 |
| 35+ | 6.3 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 7.8 |
| Education | ||||
| Primary school and lower | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 |
| Junior middle school | 6.5 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 6.8 |
| Senior middle school | 23.8 | 23.9 | 24.0 | 28.2 |
| College and higher | 68.2 | 70.6 | 67.3 | 65.0 |
| Monthly income ≥ RMB 3000b | 64.1 | 64.5 | 63.9 | 61.0 |
| No previous pregnancies | 83.2 | 86.1 | 81.0 | 84.7 |
| Preparatory exercisesc | 43.4 | 55.4 | 34.5** | 32.7 |
| Attended childbirth education | 68.4 | 59.8 | 74.8** | 73.1 |
| Prenatal visits ≥8 | 76.7 | 78.6 | 75.2 | 74.0 |
| In the hospital before delivery >5 days | 41.8 | 39.8 | 43.4 | 37.5 |
aCS: cesarean section.
bMonthly income: family monthly income per person.
cPreparatory exercises: preparatory exercises for facilitating delivery during pregnancy.
**Difference between women having vaginal delivery and cesarean section, p value < 0.01.
Note: Totally missing cases were few: 2–13 per variable.