This study of 17,443 childbearing women, investigated the relationship between hospital admissions 5 years prior to index birth, type of mental disorders and risk factors for mode of delivery. Hospital based electronic perinatal medical records between 2001 and 2006, were linked with the Swedish National Inpatient Care Registry 1996-2006. Of all the women, 39.3% had had inpatient care prior to index birth (27.3% had had obstetric, 10.1% somatic, and 1.9% psychiatric inpatient care). Diagnoses of mental disorders at psychiatric admission (n=333) were categorized into five groups: personality/behavioral/unspecified disorder (30.9%), affective disorders and 'suicide attempt' (28.9%), neurotic/somatoform disorders (18.9%), substance use (17.1%) and schizophrenia (4.2%). Women with history of psychiatric care were more often smokers, below age 24 and single (p<0.001, respectively), had more markers of mental ill-health in pregnancy records (p≤0.001), compared to women without such previous care, and fewer were nulliparous (p<0.001). The results show that women with prior psychiatric inpatient care and those with identified mental ill-health in pregnancy records, were associated with increased adjusted risks of cesarean sections. Identifying a woman?s mental health status in pregnancy may predict and prevent emergency cesarean section.