U.S. Birth Rate Report Shows American Women Are Having More Babies


The U.S. birth rate shows more American women are having more babies. For the first time in seven years, the birth rate has increased in the United States, according to a new report from the CDC. Teen pregnancies are now reportedly at their “lowest level ever.”

The U.S. birth rate was 63 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, the CDC report states. The total number of women having babies was 1 percent higher than the previous year.

Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore University Hospital Chief Dr. Avner Hershlag cautioned against deeming the birth rate increase a trend in the United States. “The 1 percent rise in fertility rate in 2014 compared to the year prior may either be an isolated event, or herald the beginning of an upward trend in U.S. fertility rate,” Dr. Avner said.

The teen pregnancy rate for girls aged 15 to 19 fell 9 percent to 24 births per 1,000 girls, in 2014. The American teen pregnancy rate is now 61 percent lower than it was during the peak year of 1991, according to the CDC.

In 2014, nearly 4 million babies were born in the United States. The age of mothers also increased, according to the new report. The birth rate among American women in their early 20s was 79 per 1,000 women, a 2 percent drop from 2013 and a new record low. Since 2007, there has reportedly been a “steady drop” in women in their 20s giving birth.

The birth rate among women in their 30s rose by 3 percent in 2013. A 2 percent birth rate increase among women in their 40s was also noted in the CDC U.S. birth rate report.

Unmarried women had 1 percent fewer babies in 2015 than in 2014. The birth rate for that particular segment of the population reportedly decreased to 44 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. The birthrate for single moms has reportedly been dropping for the past six years. But, the birth attributed to unwed mothers still account for 40 percent of the overall births in America.

C-section rates have continued to fall, as well. The Cesarean delivery rate fell from 32.7 percent in 2013 to 32.2 percent in 2014, the lowest rate since 2007, according to the report.

“I think as people feel their paycheck is more stable, it feels like a safe environment to have a child in,” Guttmacher Institute principal research assistant Laura Lindberg said when asked why the U.S. birth rate increased in 2014.

What do you think about the U.S. birth rate report and American women having more babies?

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