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Complete Health Indicator Report of 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

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^]

Healthy People Objective: Reduce cesarean births among low-risk (full-term, singleton, vertex presentation) women: Prior cesarean birth

U.S. Target: 81.7 percent

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.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The VBAC rate in New Jersey was slightly above that of the nation as a whole in 2021.


Related Indicators

Related Health Care System Factors Indicators:



Data Tables


VBAC and Repeat Cesareans by Year, New Jersey, 1990-2021

Method of DeliveryYearPercent of Live Births to Mothers with a Previous CesareanLower LimitUpper LimitNumer- atorDenom- inator
Record Count: 64
VBAC199017.2%16.6%17.9%2,34413,611
VBAC199119.1%18.5%19.8%2,57113,439
VBAC199220.5%19.8%21.2%2,81013,711
VBAC199321.4%20.8%22.1%2,92813,657
VBAC199422.2%21.5%23.0%2,93013,184
VBAC199526.9%26.1%27.6%3,57413,304
VBAC199635.6%34.9%36.4%5,40515,165
VBAC199734.2%33.5%35.0%5,22515,273
VBAC199833.2%32.5%34.0%5,05115,196
VBAC199929.9%29.1%30.6%4,54215,207
VBAC200026.7%26.0%27.4%4,12015,453
VBAC200121.1%20.5%21.8%3,29015,577
VBAC200216.5%15.9%17.1%2,55515,468
VBAC200313.9%13.4%14.4%2,26716,303
VBAC200411.1%10.7%11.6%1,81916,321
VBAC20059.2%8.8%9.7%1,56917,037
VBAC20068.5%8.1%8.9%1,48317,510
VBAC20077.7%7.4%8.1%1,41818,351
VBAC20087.2%6.8%7.5%1,29918,148
VBAC20097.3%6.9%7.7%1,34318,377
VBAC20107.9%7.5%8.3%1,41918,057
VBAC20118.5%8.1%8.9%1,57018,412
VBAC20128.8%8.4%9.2%1,58718,122
VBAC20139.7%9.2%10.1%1,78518,491
VBAC201410.4%9.9%10.8%1,93418,669
VBAC201511.5%11.0%12.0%1,96317,072
VBAC201611.9%11.5%12.4%2,05617,227
VBAC201711.7%11.3%12.2%2,09317,843
VBAC201812.6%12.2%13.1%2,29418,158
VBAC201913.8%13.3%14.3%2,44317,732
VBAC202014.5%14.0%15.1%2,48317,080
VBAC202115.1%14.6%15.7%2,64117,454
Repeat cesarean199082.8%11,26713,611
Repeat cesarean199180.9%10,86813,439
Repeat cesarean199279.5%10,90113,711
Repeat cesarean199378.6%10,72913,657
Repeat cesarean199477.8%10,25413,184
Repeat cesarean199573.1%9,73013,304
Repeat cesarean199664.4%9,76015,165
Repeat cesarean199765.8%10,04815,273
Repeat cesarean199866.8%10,14515,196
Repeat cesarean199970.1%10,66515,207
Repeat cesarean200073.3%11,33315,453
Repeat cesarean200178.9%12,28715,577
Repeat cesarean200283.5%12,91315,468
Repeat cesarean200386.1%14,03616,303
Repeat cesarean200488.9%14,50216,321
Repeat cesarean200590.8%15,46817,037
Repeat cesarean200691.5%16,02717,510
Repeat cesarean200792.3%16,93318,351
Repeat cesarean200892.8%16,84918,148
Repeat cesarean200992.7%17,03418,377
Repeat cesarean201092.1%16,63818,057
Repeat cesarean201191.5%16,84218,412
Repeat cesarean201291.2%16,53518,122
Repeat cesarean201390.3%16,70618,491
Repeat cesarean201489.6%16,73518,669
Repeat cesarean201588.5%15,10917,072
Repeat cesarean201688.1%15,17117,227
Repeat cesarean201788.3%15,75017,843
Repeat cesarean201887.4%15,86418,158
Repeat cesarean201986.2%12,28917,732
Repeat cesarean202085.5%14,59717,080
Repeat cesarean202184.9%14,81317,454

Data Source

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


Vaginal Birth after Previous Cesarean (VBAC) by Mother's Race/Ethnicity, New Jersey, 2021

Race/EthnicityPercent of Live Births to Mothers with a Previous CesareanLower LimitUpper LimitNumer- atorDenom- inator
Record Count: 5
White17.7%16.9%18.6%1,2747,183
Black15.3%13.9%16.8%3712,428
Hispanic12.8%11.9%13.7%6975,447
Asian11.8%10.4%13.5%2031,718
New Jersey15.1%14.6%15.7%2,64117,454

Data Notes

Data for White, Black, and Asian do not include Hispanics. Hispanic ethnicity includes persons of any race.

Data Sources

  • Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/index.htm]


Vaginal Birth after Previous Cesarean (VBAC) by County of Residence, New Jersey, 2019-2021

CountyPercent of Live Births to Mothers with a Previous CesareanLower LimitUpper Limit
Record Count: 23
Atlantic12.5%11.0%14.2%
Bergen10.1%9.2%10.9%
Burlington16.5%15.0%18.1%
Camden21.3%19.8%22.9%
Cape May7.9%5.6%10.8%
Cumberland16.0%13.8%18.4%
Essex14.7%13.8%15.7%
Gloucester14.0%12.2%15.9%
Hudson8.5%7.7%9.3%
Hunterdon15.7%12.7%19.1%
Mercer15.4%13.8%17.0%
Middlesex13.6%12.7%14.6%
Monmouth17.7%16.4%19.2%
Morris9.3%8.2%10.5%
Ocean37.3%35.8%38.9%
Passaic6.8%6.1%7.7%
Salem10.1%7.2%13.8%
Somerset15.5%13.7%17.4%
Sussex7.8%5.9%10.1%
Union10.6%9.6%11.6%
Warren12.5%9.8%15.6%
New Jersey14.5%14.2%14.8%
United States13.9%

Data Source

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

References and Community Resources

1. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30681543 ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 205: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery]. 2019 Feb;133(2):e110-e127.

Page Content Updated On 08/15/2023, Published on 08/15/2023
Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health, PO Box 360, Trenton, NJ 08625-0360, Web: www.nj.gov/health/chs, e-mail: chs@doh.nj.gov
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 Fri, 26 April 2024 19:27:14 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

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