Recent Trends in Birth
The most recent statistics on the women today who are giving birth
The National Center for Health Statistics has released new information on the trends of mothers who are giving birth including their ages, races and marital status.
Have you ever wondered if the teenage birth rate is going up? Are there more women waiting until they are older to have children? What about the number of unmarried women having children? We now have an invaluable resource from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The most recent findings have been reported from the year 2004 and here is a glimpse of some of the most interesting statistics about the women, including their ages, races and marital status who are giving birth in the United States today.
How Many Births are Occurring?
The number of births in the United States rose slightly in 2004 by approximately 1% over the number of births in 2003. This amounts to about 4.1 million births according to the NCHS.
Who is Giving Birth?
Birth rates among women of different races has changed a bit recently. Birth rates from women with Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander and Native American descent have increased, while birth rates from Caucasian (non-Hispanic) women have decreased from 2003 to 2004.
A record high number of babies were born to unmarried women in 2004. In fact, nearly 1.5 million births (or an increase of 4%) occurred to women who were not married. Over 50% of the births to women in their early 20's and almost 30% of the births to women ages 25-29 were to mothers who were not married.
The number of babies born to teenage girls in the United States has steadily declined over the last 14 years from a high of over 60 per 1,000 births in 1991 for girls in the age range of 15-19. In 2004, the number of births to girls in this same age range fell to 41.2 births per every 1,000. However in 2004, there was a slight increase in the number of births to young teens from the ages of 10-14.
Births Increasing to Older Mothers?
As one might suspect, births to older mothers did increase from 2003 to 2004. The number of births increased slightly for women in the age range 30-34, while the birth rate for women in the age range of 35-39 increased by 4%.
Statistics can be helpful to give us a picture of what happens over time. Be watching for new articles coming out on the latest trends in birthing options that mothers are choosing including home births, unassisted births and water births.
Are you noticing any trends in women who are giving birth today? Tell us more on the forum.
