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BabyCenter
Just over 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and the details of how, when, and where they arrive are always shifting.
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Inside pregnancy: Labor and birth Contractions begin and the cervix gradually opens. See the stages of labor and watch a baby being born. The biggest news this year is that the U.S. birth rate is still slumping – down 3 percent in 2010 from 2009. "Birth rate" is an estimate of the average number of births a group of women will have over their lifetime. The U.S. birth rate grew every year from 2003 to 2007 and has been declining since. The number of births is down too. The latest birth count (4,055,000) is 7 percent less than the all-time high of 4,316,233 births in 2007. Many blame the tumultuous economy for the dropping numbers. Still, the United States remains the third most populous country in the world (after India and China) and is projected to stay in third position through 2050. Note: Most of the numbers in this article come from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, which is sometimes compiled and analyzed over several years. That's why some of the latest info is from 2008. The CDC's 2008 data is final, but some of the 2009 and 2010 data is still considered preliminary. We also pulled a few interesting stats from the U.S. Census Bureau report, "Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-2003." When and where U.S. babies are bornThe biggest day The most popular day for babies to make their entrance is Tuesday, followed by Monday. Sunday is the slowest day, with 35.1 fewer births than average. Scheduled c-sections and induced labors have a big influence on the fact that far fewer babies are born on the weekend, but spontaneous (non-scheduled) deliveries occur less often on the weekend too. The biggest month In 2010 more newborns arrived in September than in any other month. The second, third, and fourth most popular birthday months were August, June, and July, in that order. Birth numbers and rates in the states The number of births went down for 40 states and remained about the same for the rest of the states in 2009. Birth rates ranged from 51 births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44 in Vermont to 88 per 1,000 in Utah. States with the most births California, Texas, and New York (in descending order) had the greatest number of births. States with the highest birth rate Utah had the highest birth rate, with 88 births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming had more than 70 births per 1,000 women. States with the fewest births Vermont had the fewest births, followed by Wyoming, North Dakota, and District of Columbia. States with the lowest birth rate Vermont had the lowest birth rate, with 51 births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island had fewer than 60 births per 1,000 women. The age and fertility of momsAge of first-time moms Over the last three decades, women have been waiting longer to start having children. In 1970 the average age of a first-time mother was about 21. In 2008 the average age was 25.1. How old were you when you had your first child? Birth rate In 2009 the birth rate in the United States was 66.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. This was a 3 percent decline from 2008 and a reversal of the increases seen in 2006 to 2008. In 2010 the birth rate dropped another 3 percent, to 64.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. Number of births by age Here's how the numbers played out among U.S. women in 2009.
The marital status of new momsA rising number of new moms are not married: 41 percent of babies were born to unmarried women in 2009. That percentage has been on the upswing since 2002. Teens accounted for 21 percent of births out of wedlock in 2009, continuing a steady decline over the past several decades. By contrast, in 1975, 52 percent of these births were to teens. The largest increase in births to unmarried women has been in women age 30 and older. In 2010, 9.9 million single moms were living with kids under 18 in the United States, up from 3.4 million in 1970. The work status of pregnant and new momsStay-at-home moms in 2010: 5 million First-time moms who worked during their pregnancy in 2008: 67 percent (and 57 percent of them worked full-time) Between 1961 and 1965, 44 percent of first-time moms worked while pregnant. First-time moms who worked during the month before they gave birth: 80 percent Between 1961 and 1965, 35 percent of first-time moms worked during the last month of pregnancy. Percentage who were working six months after they gave birth: 55 percent In the early 1960s, the percentage of first-timers working six months after giving birth was 14 percent. Prenatal healthPrenatal care The percentage of women receiving prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy was 71 percent in the 27 states that reported this information in 2008. In these states, 7 percent of pregnant women received late or no prenatal care. Pregnancy weight gain Weight gain of less than 16 pounds is associated with a higher risk of problems such as low birth weight and preterm birth, while high weight gain is linked with problems like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, c-sections, and weight retention after pregnancy. How do you feel about the weight you gained during pregnancy? Moms-to-be who smoke In the 24 states that kept track of this information in 2008, 1 in 10 women reported smoking sometime during pregnancy. Those who did so were more likely to deliver low-birth-weight babies than women who didn't smoke. If you're trying to quit, get tips on kicking the habit from moms who've been there. Birth and deliveryDoctors and hospitals In 2008 most moms in the United States (99 percent) gave birth in hospitals with the help of a physician (91.3 percent). Midwives attended about 8 percent of all births (most midwife-attended births are in hospitals), up from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s. Of the 1 percent of births that took place outside the hospital in 2008, 66 percent were in homes and 28 percent were in birth centers. These numbers have remained largely the same since 1989. Midwives attended 61 percent of home births in 2008. Montana and Vermont had the highest rate of home births. Use of epidurals Of the 27 states that kept track of epidural use in labor, 61 percent of mothers who delivered a single baby vaginally in 2008 received an epidural or spinal block. C-sections Cesarean deliveries rose in 2009 to 32.9 percent of births, a 2 percent rise from 2008 and another record high. The c-section rate has climbed almost 60 percent in the United States since 1996. Induction and other techniques The number of women whose labor is induced has more than doubled since 1990. In 2008, 23 percent of labors were induced, compared with 22.5 percent in 2006. The number of babies delivered with the help of forceps or vacuum extraction, though, is on the decline, down to 3.9 percent in 2008 from 4.3 percent in 2007. In 1990 almost 1 in 10 babies was delivered with forceps or vacuum extraction, compared with fewer than 1 in 25 in 2008. Boys vs. girls With about 1,048 male babies born for every 1,000 female babies born in 2008, boys are keeping the edge in a ratio that's stayed about the same over the past 60 years. Twins The number of twins born in the United States increased just 1 percent in 2008 – to 32.6 pairs of twins born for every 1,000 births. While this is the highest rate on record, the numbers have remained roughly the same since 2004 after skyrocketing 70 percent between 1980 and 2004. Triplets and more The rate of triplets and higher multiple births in 2008 was 147.6 per 100,000 births, about the same as the 2007 rate. After shooting up by more than 400 percent between 1980 and 1998, the rate has dropped, especially since 2003, in part because of improvements in fertility treatments. The 2008 rate of triplets and higher multiple births was 24 percent lower than the 1998 rate. Big families In 2008, 18,986 mothers gave birth for the eighth or more time. Premature babies The preterm birth rate declined in the United States for the third straight year to 12.18 percent of births in 2009. Between 1981 and 2006, the percentage of infants born preterm (less than 37 completed weeks) rose by more than one-third. Weight at birth The average U.S. newborn weight in 2008 was 7 pounds, 4.26 ounces. About 8 percent of babies born in 2009 were at "low birth weight" (defined as less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces, or 2,500 grams) – basically unchanged from 2005. |
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