NATALITY

Statistical Overview

There were 113,810 live births to New Jersey residents in 1999.  This number is virtually the same as the number in 1998 (Table N1 and Figure N1).  Age-specific birth rates continued to increase among older mothers and decrease among younger mothers (Table N4).  Multiple births as a share of all births continued to rise.  In 1989, 2.2 percent of births (2,630) were part of a twin, triplet, or higher order birth.  By 1999, the percentage had risen to 4.2 percent (4,734 births) -- an increase of 90.9 percent (Table N9 and Figure N4).  Older mothers and white non-Hispanic mothers had the highest rates of multiple births (Table N10).  By 1999, the proportion of deliveries made by cesarean section had risen to over one-quarter of all births.  The rate of vaginal birth after a previous cesarean for all mothers who had a prior C-section continued to decline after peaking in 1996 (Table N15 and Figure N6).  Cesareans are more common among older mothers (Table N17).

Maternal Characteristics and Medical Services Utilization

The median age of women who gave birth in 1999 was 30.2 (Table N28); 48.9 percent of mothers were under age 30 and 51.1 percent were 30 and over (Table N18 and Figure N8).  The number and percent of births to teens continued a long decline (to 8,392 births or 7.4% of the total number of births) that has lasted more than two decades.  Conversely, the number and percent of births to women 35 and over continued to rise, increasing to 22,788 births (20.0% of all births) (Table N19 and Figure N9).  White non-Hispanic women accounted for 54.8 percent of births; 18.5 percent were to Hispanic women of any race; 16.4 percent to black non-Hispanic women; and 6.9 percent were to Asian and Pacific Islander non-Hispanic women (Table N22 and Figure N7).  For 28.0 percent of women giving birth in 1999, this was their first pregnancy (Table N25); for 40.6 percent this was their first live birth and for 33.5 percent this was their second (Table N27 and Figure N12).  The median age of women giving birth to their first child was 27.8 (Table N28).  The proportion of unmarried mothers remained unchanged at 28.0 percent (Table N29 and Figure N13).  The highest rates of unmarried mothers occurred among women under 25 years of age and among black non-Hispanic and Hispanic mothers, where the proportions were over 50 percent (Table N30).   

Three-quarters of women received prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, while only 1.0 percent did not receive care at all (Table N35 and Figure N14).  Older mothers, white or Asian/Pacific Islander non-Hispanic mothers, married mothers, and mothers with higher levels of education were more likely to receive early prenatal care while younger mothers, black non-Hispanic mothers, unmarried mothers, and less educated mothers were more likely to not receive any care (Tables N37-N39).  On average, women received 10.8 prenatal care visits in 1999.   

Nearly ten percent of births were preterm (fewer than 37 weeks of gestation).  Prematurely born infants were more likely to be part of a multiple birth and were more likely to be underweight (less than 2,500 grams) (Table N42).   

In 1999, 10.1 percent of mothers reported that they smoked during pregnancy, 1.6 percent drank alcohol, and 1.8 percent used other drugs (Tables N43-N45 and Figure N16).  Diabetes was the most frequently reported medical risk factor among mothers delivering in 1999 (3.8%).  Among teen mothers and black non-Hispanic mothers, sexually transmitted diseases were the most common risk.  Nearly 60 percent of women delivering in 1999 reported no medical risk factors (Table N46).  Over 90 percent of mothers had electronic fetal monitoring and ultrasound performed (Table N47 and Figure N17).  Over 50 percent had some complication of labor and/or delivery reported.  Moderate or heavy meconium (6.9%) and fetal distress (6.2%) were the most common complications in each age group and in each race/ethnicity group (Table N48).   

Newborn Health

In 1999, 8.0 percent of infants were of low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams at birth).  While the low birth weight percentages among white non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander non-Hispanic infants were below the overall percentage (6.7%, 7.2%, and 7.9%, respectively), 14.0 percent of black non-Hispanic infants weighed less than 2,500 grams at birth (Table N49 and Figure N19).  Low birth weights occurred most frequently among the youngest and the oldest mothers, while mothers aged 25-34 had the lowest rates (Table N49 and Figure N18).  Low birth weight was highly correlated with plurality.  While only 5.9 percent of singletons were of low birth weight, 55.9 percent of multiple births weighed less than 2,500 grams (Table N53 and Figure N21).  The likelihood of low birth weight also increased with the number of previous pregnancy terminations and with a lack of prenatal care (Tables N52 & N54 and Figures N20 & N22).  

Nearly 95 percent of infants received a five-minute Apgar score of seven or higher.  Mothers who did not receive prenatal care had the highest rates of low (0-6) Apgar scores (Table N56).  Over 90 percent of newborns had no abnormal conditions reported.  Assisted ventilation of 30 minutes or more was the most frequently reported abnormal condition among newborns in 1999 (Table N57).  There were no congenital anomalies reported on 93.9 percent of birth certificates (Table N58), however New Jersey maintains a separate Birth Defects Registry that may more accurately reflect the population of newborns and children with congenital anomalies. 

The Technical Notes section contains information on sources of data, allocation of data by residence or occurrence, quality of data, racial and ethnic classification, definitions, and rates and ratios.

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