Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of General Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery

General anesthesia for cesarean delivery is associated with increased maternal morbidity, and Black and Hispanic pregnant patients have higher rates of general anesthesia use compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts. It is unknown whether risk factors and indications for general anesthesia differ among patients of differing race and ethnicity. To evaluate differences in general anesthesia use for cesarean delivery and the indication for the general anesthetic by race and ethnicity. In this retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study, electronic medical records for all 35 117 patients who underwent cesarean delivery at Northwestern Medicine's Prentice Women's Hospital from January 1, 2007, to March 2, 2018, were queried for maternal demographics, clinical characteristics, obstetric and anesthetic data, the indication for cesarean delivery, and the indication for general anesthesia when used. Data analysis occurred in August 2023. Cesarean delivery. The rate of general anesthesia for cesarean delivery by race and ethnicity. Of the 35 117 patients (median age, 33 years [IQR, 30-36 years]) who underwent cesarean delivery, 1147 (3.3%) received general anesthesia; the rates of general anesthesia were 2.5% for Asian patients (61 of 2422), 5.0% for Black patients (194 of 3895), 3.7% for Hispanic patients (197 of 5305), 2.8% for non-Hispanic White patients (542 of 19 479), and 3.8% (153 of 4016) for all other groups (including those who declined to provide race and ethnicity information) (P