Births: Preliminary Data for 2014

June 17, 2015

NCHS has just released a new report that presents preliminary data on births and birth rates and selected maternal and infant health characteristics for the United States in 2014.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • The 2014 preliminary number of U.S. births was 3,985,924, an increase of 1% from 2013.
  • The number of births increased for women in all race and Hispanic origin groups in 2014 except for American Indian or Alaska Native women, for whom births decreased.
  • The general fertility rate was 62.9 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, up 1% from 2013, and the first increase in the fertility rate since 2007.
  • The birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 decreased 9% in 2014 to 24.2 births per 1,000 women, yet another historic low for the nation; rates decreased for both younger and older teenagers to record lows. The birth rate for women in their early 20s declined to 79 births per 1,000 women, another record low.
  • Birth rates for women in their 30s and early 40s increased in 2014.
  • The nonmarital birth rate declined 1% in 2014, to 44.0 births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44, dropping for six consecutive years.
  • The cesarean delivery rate was down 2%, and the low-risk cesarean delivery rate was down 3%, in 2014.
  • The preterm birth rate (based on a change in measure) was down in 2014 to 9.57%. The low birthweight rate was essentially unchanged in 2014 at 8%.

 

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Births: Final Data for 2013

January 15, 2015

A new NCHS report presents 2013 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, attendant at birth, method of delivery, period of gestation, birthweight, and plurality. Birth and fertility rates are presented by age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, and marital status. Selected data by mother’s state of residence and birth rates by age and race of father also are shown. Trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics are described and interpreted.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • A total of 3,932,181 births were registered in the United States in 2013, down less than 1% from 2012.
  • The general fertility rate declined to 62.5 per 1,000 women aged 15–44.
  • The teen birth rate fell 10%, to 26.5 per 1,000 women aged 15–19.
  • Birth rates declined for women in their 20s and increased for most age groups of women aged 30 and over.
  • The total fertility rate (estimated number of births over a woman’s lifetime) declined 1% to 1,857.5 per 1,000 women.
  • Measures of unmarried childbearing were down in 2013 from 2012.
  • The cesarean delivery rate declined to 32.7%.
  • The preterm birth rate declined for the seventh straight year to 11.39%, but the low birthweight rate was essentially unchanged at 8.02%.
  • The twin birth rate rose 2% to 33.7 per 1,000 births; the triplet and higher-order multiple birth rate dropped 4% to 119.5 per 100,000 total births.

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National and State Patterns of Teen Births in the United States, 1940–2013

August 20, 2014

Teen childbearing in the United States has been declining for more than half a century. Except for a brief but steep increase in teen birth rates from 1986 to 1991 and smaller upturns during 1969–1970, 1979–1980, and 2005–2007, birth rates for U.S. teenagers have fallen since 1957. The birth rate in 2013, 26.6 births per 1,000 teenagers aged 15–19, was less than one-half of the rate in 1991 (61.8 per 1,000) and less than one-third of the rate in 1957 (96.3), when the United States rate was at its peak. The overall reductions in teen birth rates have been shared across all age groups, race and ethnicity groups, and states.

A new NCHS report presents trends from 1940 through 2013 in national birth rates for teenagers, with particular focus on the period since 1991. The percent changes in rates for 1991–2012 and
the for 2007–2012 are presented for the United States and for states. Preliminary data for 2013 are shown where available.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • Teen childbearing has been on a long-term downward trend, with only four exceptions since peaking in 1957. The rate in 1957 was 96.3 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19. The rate dropped almost one-third to 65.5 in 1969.
  • The rate then increased 4% in 1969–1970 (68.3) before resuming a decline that continued until 1979–1980 and again until 1986 (50.2). From 1986 through 1991, the birth rate rose 23%. Since 1991, the rate has fallen 57% and the decline has been continuous except for a 5% rise during 2005–2007.
  • The pace of decline accelerated from 2007 forward, with the rate reaching 26.6 per 1,000 in 2013, a drop of 36% from 2007.
  • The 2013 rate is less than one-third of the 1957 peak rate.

 

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