Declines in Births by Month: United States, 2020

June 23, 2021

NCHS released a report that presents provisional 2020 and final 2019 and 2018 data on changes in the number of U.S. births by race and Hispanic origin of mother and by month of birth and state.

Findings:

  • From 2019 to 2020, the number of births for the United States declined for each month, with the largest declines occurring in December (8%), August (7%), and October and November (6%).
  • Larger declines in births were seen in the second half of 2020 (down 6%) compared with the first half (down 2%) of 2020.
  • The number of births declined in both the first and second 6 months of 2020 compared with 2019 for nearly all race and Hispanic-origin groups, with larger declines in the second half of 2020 compared with the first half of the year.
  • Births declined in 20 states in the first half of 2020, and in all states in the second half of 2020 (declines in 7 states were not significant).
  • Changes in births by race and Hispanic origin and by state were less pronounced from 2018 to 2019; the number of births declined for 9 months by 1%–3%.

 

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Posted by briantsai

Births: Provisional Data for 2020

May 5, 2021

lady-holding-baby-mask-01The general fertility rate in the U.S. reached another record low in 2020 and the number of births in 2020 fell for the sixth straight year, according to provisional statistics released today by NCHS.

The provisional data are featured in a new report, “Births: Provisional Data for 2020,” which is based on over 99% of birth certificates issued during the year. The report reveals that the number of births in 2020 was 3,605,201, down 4% from 2019. The general fertility rate in 2020 was 55.8 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44, also down 4% from 2019.

Other findings in the report:

  • The total fertility rate (TFR) was 1,637.5 births per 1,000 women in 2020, down 4% from 2019 and another record low for the nation. The TFR in 2020 means the U.S. continues to be at “below replacement levels.”
  • Birth rates were unchanged for adolescents ages 10-14 and women ages 45-49, but declined for all other age groups.
  • The birth rate for teenagers ages 15–19 declined by 8% in 2020 to 15.3 births per 1,000 females. The teen birth rate has declined every year except for two (2006 and 2007) going back to 1991. The rates declined in 2020 for both younger (ages 15–17) and older (ages 18–19) teenagers.
  • The cesarean delivery rate increased to 31.8% in 2020, and the low-risk cesarean delivery rate increased to 25.9%.
  • The preterm birth rate declined for the first time since 2014, to 10.09% in 2020.

NYC-medium_croppedNCHS also released a second report today that examined changes in the proportion of births to New York City residents outside the city for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.

Other findings in the report:

  • From 2019 to 2020, the percentage of births to New York City residents that occurred outside of the City increased for all months from March through November, ranging from +15% for September to +70% for April.
  • Out-of-city births peaked in April (10.2%) and May (10.3%) at more than one and onehalf times the 2019 levels (6.0% and 6.2%, respectively).
  • Among non-Hispanic white women, the percentage of out-of-city births was nearly 2.5 times higher in 2020 than in 2019 in April (15.6% versus 6.6%) and May (15.8% versus 6.5%).
  • The percentage of out-of-city births among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic residents increased in only two months in 2020.

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Posted by briantsai

State Teen Birth Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: United States, 2017–2018

July 10, 2020

New NCHS report presents changes in state-specific birth rates for teenagers between 2017 and 2018 by race and Hispanic origin of mother.

Click to access NVSR69-6-508.pdf

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Posted by briantsai

Births: Final Data for 2018

November 27, 2019

Questions for Joyce Martin, Health Statistician and Lead Author of “Births: Final Data for 2018”

Q: What is new in this report from the 2018 provisional birth report?

JM: In addition to providing final numbers and rates for numerous birth characteristics such as fertility rates, teen childbearing, cesarean delivery and preterm and low birthweight, this report presents final information on  teen childbearing by race and Hispanic origin and by state, births to unmarried women, tobacco use during pregnancy, source of payment for the delivery and twin and triplet childbearing.

Q: Was there a specific finding in the 2018 final birth data that surprised you?

JM: The continued decline in birth rates to unmarried women (down 2% for 2017-2018 to 40.1 births per 1,000 unmarried women), the fairly steep decline in tobacco smoking among pregnant women (down 6% to 6.5% of all women) and the continued declines in twin (down 2%) and triplet (down 8%) birth rates.  Also of note is the decline in the percentage of births covered by Medicaid between 2017 and 2018 (down 2% to 42.3%) and the small rise in the percentage covered by private insurance (49.6% in 2018).

Q: How did you obtain this data for this report?

JM: These data are based on information for all birth certificates registered in the United States for 2018.

Q: What is the take home message for this report?

JM: Birth certificate data provide a wealth of important current and trend information on demographic and maternal and infant health characteristics for the United States.

Q: Why do you think the birth has dropped in the U.S.?

JM: The factors associated with family formation and childbearing are numerous and complex, involving psychological, cultural, demographic, and socio-economic influences. The data on which the report is based come from all birth certificates registered in the U.S. While the data provide a wealth of information on topics such as the number of births occurring in small areas, to small population groups, and for rare health outcomes, the data do not provide information on the attitudes and behavior of the parents regarding family formation and childbearing. Accordingly, the data in and of itself cannot answer the question of why births have dropped in the U.S.

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Posted by briantsai

Births: Provisional Data for 2017

May 17, 2018

Questions for Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D., Demographer, Statistician, and Lead Author of “Births: Provisional Data for 2017”

Q: What did you think was the most interesting finding in your new analysis?

BH: The report includes a number of very interesting findings. The general fertility rate, 60.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, declining 3% in 2017 and reaching a record low is certainly noteworthy. In addition, the continued decline in the birth rate for teens, down 7% from 2016 to in 2017, and reaching another record low, is very significant. The increase in the cesarean delivery rate following several years of decline is noteworthy as are the recent increase in rates of preterm and low birthweight births.

Q: Why does fertility keep going down in the U.S.?

BH: In general, there are a number of factors associated with fertility. The data on which the report is based comes from the birth certificates registered for births in the U.S. While the scope of this data is essentially all births in the country, and provides detailed information about rare events, small areas, or small population groups, the data does not provide information about the parent’s decision to have (or not have) a child. And so, accordingly, we cannot examine the “why” of the changes and trends in births.

Q: Does the decline in the Total Fertility Rate essentially mean fertility is down below “replacement” levels?  Could you explain this in general terms?

BH: “Replacement” refers to a minimum rate of reproduction necessary for generation to exactly replace itself, that is, enough children born to replace a group of 1,000 women and their partners. For the total fertility rate, this rate is generally considered to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women. In 2017, the total fertility rate, 1,764.5 births per 1,000 women, was below replacement.

Q: Do the increases among women over 40 suggest a “new norm” in people waiting till much later to have children?

BH: Birth rates for women aged 40-44 and 45-49 years have increased generally over the last 3 decades. Given this, it reasonable to expect this trend to continue.

Q: Are the annual declines in teen pregnancy something that we are in danger of taking for granted?

BH: The birth rate for females aged 15-19 has decreased 8% per year from 2007 through 2017. For comparison, the decline in the birth rates for women aged 20-24 and 25-29 was 4% and 2% from 2007 through 2017. The decline in teen births is very noteworthy.

Q: Can you explain how the increases in preterm births and low birthweight are connected?

BH: Infants born preterm are also often, but not exclusively, born low birthweight and vice-versa.  The causes of the recent upward shift in these rates are not well understood.

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Posted by briantsai

Interpregnancy Intervals in the United States: Data From the Birth Certificate and the National Survey of Family Growth

April 16, 2015

A new NCHS report looks at data on interpregnancy intervals (IPI), defined as the timing between a live birth and conception of a subsequent live birth, from a subset of jurisdictions that adopted the 2003 revised birth certificate.

The data contains births to residents of the 36 states and the District of Columbia (DC) that implemented the 2003 revision of the birth certificate as of January 1, 2011.

Because this information is available among revised jurisdictions only, the national representativeness of IPI and related patterns to the entire United States were assessed using the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

Key Findings from the Report:

  • Jurisdiction-specific median IPI ranged from 25 months (Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin) to 32 months (California) using birth certificate data.
  • Unmarried women had a higher percentage of long IPI from the birth certificate and NSFG compared with married women.
  • Consistent patterns in IPI distribution by data source were seen by age at delivery, marital status, education, number of previous live births, and Hispanic origin and race, with the exception of differences in IPI of 60 months or more among non-Hispanic black women and women with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

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Posted by briantsai

National Birth Defects Prevention Month

January 9, 2014

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month.  Major birth defects are conditions present at birth that cause structural changes in one or more parts of the body. They can have a serious, adverse effect on health, development, or functional ability.

Birth defects – also known as congenital anomalies – are a leading cause of infant death that account for more than 1 of every 5 infant deaths.  On the topic of infant deaths, the infant mortality rate decreased 3.8% in 2010 from 2009, to a record low of just over 6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.  The neonatal mortality rate decreased 3.1% in 2010 from 2009, and the postneonatal mortality rate decreased 5.4% for the same period.  The infant mortality rate was 2.2 times greater for the black population than for the white population.

A few years back, NCHS posted a trends report entitled “Spina Bifida and Anencephalus in the United States from 1991-2006.”  Spina bifida is a major birth defect of a person’s spine and Anencephaly is a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. In 1992, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended that women of childbearing age increase consumption of the vitamin folic acid after it was found that it could help prevent spina bifida and anencephalus. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized that all enriched cereal grain products be fortified with folic acid. Using updated birth certificate data available for the U.S. since 1989, NCHS followed a 16-year trend from 1991 to 2006 for the two neural tube defects.

After a significant increase in the spina bifida rate from 1992 to 1995, a significant decline occurred from 1995 to 1999.  The rate continued to decline after 2000, and the 2006 rate was nearly the same as that in 2005 – the lowest ever reported

After a decline in the early part of the decade, the anencephalus rate was stable during the mid-1990s (1994–1997).  The rate was also stable, but generally lower than in earlier years, during 1998–2002 . The rate for 2003–2006 was higher than for the 1998–2002 period.

For more information on birth defects, please click here.

For more information on how folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects click here.

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Posted by briantsai

Births–Using the NCHS Vital Stats Tool

April 8, 2009

 

NCHS birth tables with a variety of variables for selection are available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/vitalstats/VitalStatsbirths.htm.

By selecting the national or subnational (i.e., state and some county) levels, you can find specific statistics for national, state, and some county birth rates, fertility rates, method of delivery (vaginal or cesarean), length of pregnancy, birthweight, characteristics of the mother (i.e., age, race, marital status, education), prenatal care, and risk factors (i.e., diabetes, hypertension, and smoking). For journalists who need assistance, feel free to contact the NCHS press office.

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Posted by Megan Cox

New birth statistics released–teen birth rate raises once again

March 18, 2009


New birth statistics released today by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reveal that the U.S. teen birth rate increased slightly in 2007 for the second straight year. The findings are published in a new report, “Births: Preliminary Data for 2007,” based on analysis of nearly 99% of birth records reported to 50 States and the District of Columbia as part of the National Vital Statistics System.

The report shows that the birth rate for teens increased 1 percent between 2006 and 2007, from 41.9 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 years in 2006 to 42.5 in 2007. Birth rates remained unchanged for younger females, ages 10-14, but increased for women in their twenties, thirties, and early forties.

For more information on births to unmarried women, preterm births, lowbirthweight, cesarean births, and more, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_12.pdf.

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Posted by Megan Cox

Teen births increase in over one-half of states

January 7, 2009

The teen birth rate increased in more than half of all 50 states in 2006, according to an NCHS report released today. Click here for the report.

The data show teen birth rates were highest in the South and Southwest, with the highest rate recorded in Mississippi (68.4), followed by New Mexico (64.1) and Texas (63.1).

Teen birth rates in 2006 were lowest in the Northeast in 2006, with the lowest rates occurring in New Hampshire (18.7), Vermont (20.8), and Massachusetts (21.3). The only states with a decrease in teen birth rates between 2005 and 2006 were North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New York.

NCHS reported in December 2007 that the teen birth rate for the nation as a whole increased for the first time in 15 years in 2006 from 40.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 2005 to 41.9 in 2006.

The report also features birth data on a variety of topics, including state-based and national information on teen, unmarried, and multiple births, along with health data on smoking during pregnancy, cesarean delivery, preterm birth, and low birthweight.

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Posted by Megan Cox

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