Fay Menacker

Annual summary of vital statistics: 2004

The crude birth rate in 2004 was 14.0 births per 1000 population, the second lowest ever reported for the United States. The number of births and the fertility rate (66.3) increased slightly (by <1%) from 2003 to 2004. Fertility rates were highest for Hispanic women (97.7), followed by Asian or Pacific Islander (67.2), non-Hispanic black (66.7), Native American (58.9), and non-Hispanic white (58.5) women. The birth rate for teen mothers continued to fall, dropping 1% from 2003 to 2004 to 41.2 births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 years, which is another record low. The teen birth rate has fallen 33% since 1991; declines were more rapid for younger teens aged 15 to 17 (43%) than for older teens aged 18 to 19 (26%). The proportion of all births to unmarried women is now slightly higher than one third. Smoking during pregnancy declined slightly from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, 29.1% of births were delivered by cesarean delivery, up 6% since 2003 and 41% since 1996 (20.7%). The primary cesarean delivery rate has risen 41% since 1996, whereas the rate of vaginal birth after a previous cesarean delivery has fallen 67%. The use of timely prenatal care was 84.0% in both 2003 and 2004. The percentage of preterm births rose to 12.5% in 2004 from 10.6% in 1990 and 9.4% in 1981. The percentage of low birth weight births also increased to 8.1% in 2004, up from 6.7% in 1984. Twin birth rate and triplet/+ birth rates increased by 1% and <1%, respectively, from 2002 to 2003. Multiple births accounted for 3.3% of all births in 2003. The infant mortality rate was 7.0 per 1000 live births in 2002 compared with 6.8 in 2001. The ratio of the infant mortality rate among non-Hispanic black infants to that for non-Hispanic white infants was 2.4 in 2002, the same as in 2001. The United States continues to rank poorly in international comparisons of infant mortality. Expectation of life at birth reached a record high of 77.6 years for all gender and race groups combined. Death rates in the United States continue to decline, with death rates decreasing for 8 of the 15 leading causes. Death rates for children ≤19 years of age declined for 7 of the 10 leading causes in 2003. The death rates did not increase for any cause, and rates for heart disease, influenza, and pneumonia and septicemia did not change significantly for children as a group. A large proportion of childhood deaths, however, continue to occur as a result of preventable injuries.

Recent Trends and Patterns in Cesarean and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Deliveries in the United States

Cesarean delivery is the most common major surgical procedure for women in the United States, with 1.4 million surgeries annually. In 2008, nearly one-third (32.3%) of US births were by cesarean delivery. Cesarean delivery rates have increased rapidly in the United States in recent years because of an increasing primary cesarean delivery rate and a declining vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rate. In 2007, the VBAC rate was 8.3% in a 22-state reporting area. The US VBAC rate was lowest among 14 industrialized countries; 3 countries had VBAC rates greater than 50%.

Characteristics of Planned and Unplanned Home Births in 19 States

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the differences in the characteristics of mothers having planned and unplanned home births that occurred at home in a 19-state reporting area in the United States in 2006. METHODS: Data are from the 2006 U.S. vital statistics natality file. Information on whether a home birth was planned or unplanned was available from 19 states, representing 49% of all home births nationally. Data were examined by maternal age, race or ethnicity, education, marital status, live birth order, birthplace of mother, gestational age, prenatal care, smoking status, state, population of county of residence, and birth attendant. We could not identify planned home births that resulted in a transfer to the hospital. RESULTS: Of the 11,787 home births with planning status recorded in the 19 states studied here, 9,810 (83.2%) were identified as planned home births. The proportion of all births that occurred at home that were planned varied from 54% to 98% across states. Unplanned home births are more likely to involve mothers who are non-white, younger, unmarried, foreign-born, smokers, not college-educated, and with no prenatal care. Unplanned home births are also more likely to be preterm and to be attended by someone who is neither a doctor nor a midwife and is listed as either “other” or “unknown.” CONCLUSION: Planned and unplanned home births differ substantially in characteristics, and distinctions need to be drawn between the two in subsequent analyses. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III

Neonatal Mortality Risk for Repeat Cesarean Compared to Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) Deliveries in the United States, 1998-2002 Birth Cohorts

To examine trends in repeat cesarean delivery, the characteristics of women who have repeat cesareans, and the risk of neonatal mortality for repeat cesarean birth compared to vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Trends and characteristics of repeat cesareans were examined for: the period 1998–2002 for [1] all births, [2] low-risk births (singleton, term, vertex births) and [3] “no indicated risk” (NIR) births (singleton, term, vertex presentation births with no reported medical risks or complications). For low-risk and NIR births, neonatal mortality rates for repeat cesareans and VBACs were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the risk of neonatal mortality for repeat cesareans and VBACs, after controlling for demographic and health factors. In 2002 the repeat cesarean rate was 87.4%, and varied little by maternal risk status or by demographic and health characteristics. From 1998–2002 rates increased by 20% for low risk and by 21% for NIR births, respectively. For low-risk women for the 1998–2002 birth cohorts, the adjusted odds ratio for neonatal mortality associated with repeat cesarean delivery (compared with VBAC) was 1.36 (95% C.I. 1.20–1.55). For NIR women, the adjusted odds ratio was 1.24 (0.99–1.55). The experience of a prior cesarean has apparently become a major indication for a repeat cesarean. Regardless of maternal risk status, almost 90% of women with a prior cesarean have a subsequent (i.e., repeat) cesarean delivery. This is the case even if there was no other reported medical indication. Our findings do not support the widely-held belief that neonatal mortality risk is significantly lower for repeat cesarean compared to VBAC delivery.