New Jersey's High Cesarean Rate

NJ has the dubious honor of having the highest cesarean rate in the country, at 39%.

The following is a list of Central NJ hospitals. I have listed the 1997 cesarean rate for each of these hospitals, followed by the 2007 rate, as compiled by Somerset County ICAN. What a difference 10 years can make.....


CentraState 25% 48%

Riverview 23% 43%

JerseyShore 27% 42%

St. Peter's 25% 39%

Somerset 22% 39%

Robert Wood Johnson 23% 37%

JFK Medical Center 23% 37%

Princeton Med Center 19% 33%

Monmouth Med Center 24% 27%


Now what strikes me as interesting is that all of these hospitals have a similar socio-economic demographic for their patients. So what is so different about the moms at, for example, Centrastate, where they have almost twice the risk of delivering their babies surgically than the moms who deliver at Monmouth?? And with cesarean rates almost doubled from 10 years ago, what is the world is so different about women having babies now as opposed to 10 years ago? And the rise in the cesarean rate has not made birth any safer; it has not decreased infant or maternal mortality rates. Instead, it has increased the risks both to mother and baby.

If you look online, you can find lists like this one:
19 Ways to Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean

(which actually has some good suggestions and tips)

However, if your doctor has a high cesarean rate, don't think that s/he is going to be all that comfortable with allowing your labor to continue if it deviates the slightest bit from what s/he feels is a "normal" labor.

What can a mom looking to avoid an unnecessary cesarean do then? One very important thing to do, as Peggy O'Mara at Mothering magazine puts it, is to "ask your practitioner what his or her individual cesarean rate is. Ask what the rate is for the practice. Ask about other interventions and how they compare to evidence or federal guidelines. If the question is balked at or not taken seriously, be cautious. Don't become a statistic. Individuals or practices proud of their statistics will be familiar with them and tell them to you in an instant. "

If a cesarean is suggested, a mom can ask any questions that she has, get any information that she needs, and take the time to make the decision (barring a medical emergency of course) so that if she decides to have a cesarean birth, she is comfortable with that decision.

However, if a mom is NOT comfortable with that decision, and if mom and baby are not having any medical issues, and the mom wants to have a trial of labor or else give her labor more time (again, barring any medical emergencies of course) - why not give her the chance to either try to have a successful vaginal birth, or else come to the conclusion for herself that a cesarean is inevitable.