Skip directly to searchSkip directly to the site navigationSkip directly to the page's main content

Mercer County Public Health Profile Report

Vaginal Birth after Previous Cesarean: Percent of Live Births to Mothers with a Previous Cesarean, 2019-2021

  • Mercer
    15.4%
    95% Confidence Interval (13.8% - 17.0%)
    State
    14.5%
    U.S.
    13.9%
  • Mercer Compared to State

    gauge ranking
    Description of Gauge

    Description of the Gauge

    This graphic is based on the county data to the left. It compares the county value of this indicator to the state overall value.
    • Excellent = The county's value on this indicator is BETTER than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
    • Watch = The county's value is BETTER than state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Improvement Needed = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Reason for Concern = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.

    The county value is considered statistically significantly different from the state value if the state value is outside the range of the county's 95% confidence interval. If the county's data or 95% confidence interval information is not available, a blank gauge image will be displayed with the message, "missing information."
    NOTE: The labels used on the gauge graphic are meant to describe the county's status in plain language. The placement of the gauge needle is based solely on the statistical difference between the county and state values. When selecting priority health issues to work on, a county should take into account additional factors such as how much improvement could be made, the U.S. value, the statistical stability of the county number, the severity of the health condition, and whether the difference is clinically significant.

Why Is This Important?

VBAC is associated with decreased maternal morbidity and a decreased risk of complications in future pregnancies.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30681543 ^1^]

How Are We Doing?

The vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rate rose rapidly and steadily throughout the early 1990s but peaked in 1996 and began a rapid decline that lasted until 2008. The VBAC rate has been slowly but steadily increasing again since then. VBACs are much more common among residents of Ocean County than elsewhere in New Jersey.

Healthy People Objective MICH-7.2:

Reduce cesarean births among low-risk (full-term, singleton, vertex presentation) women: Prior cesarean birth
U.S. Target: 81.7 percent

Related Indicators

Health Care System Factors:


Data Sources

Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health  

Measure Description for Vaginal Birth after Previous Cesarean

Definition: A vaginal delivery by a mother who had a cesarean for one or more previous deliveries.
Numerator: Number of births delivered vaginally after a previous cesarean
Denominator: Total number of live births to mothers who previously had a cesarean

Indicator Profile Report

Vaginal Birth after Previous Cesarean (VBAC) (exits this report)

Date Content Last Updated

08/15/2023
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 17:57:59 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

Content updated: no date