Birth Statistics
After increasing for several years, the number of births in the US declined slightly in 2001. Consider these statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- In 2001, 4,025,933 babies were born in the US, a 1 percent decrease in births in the US from 2000.
- The median age for women having their first baby is 24.8 years, compared with 22.1 years in 1970.
- Birth rates for women in their 20s declined slightly, but birth rates for women aged 30 to 44 years are rising. In 2001, birth rates for women age 30 and older were the highest in three decades.
- The birth rate for teenagers, ages 15 to 19 years, reached its lowest point in history, 45.9 births per 1,000 population in 2001. Since 1991, the teen birth rate has fallen 26 percent.
- In 2001, there were more twin births than ever before, more than 3 percent of all births. Although most multiple births are twins, the birth rates for triplets and higher order multiple births increased slightly to 185.6 per 100,000 births.
- More women than ever are receiving early prenatal care in the US - about 83 percent.
- Fewer women are smoking during pregnancy - about 12 percent in 2001, compared with 19.5 percent in 1989. Alcohol use in pregnancy is also down to less than 1 percent compared with 4.1 percent in 1989.
- Preterm birth rates (less than 37 weeks in the womb) increased to nearly 12 percent in 2001, the highest in two decades. The rate of low birthweight babies (less than 5.5 pounds) increased to 7.7 percent.
- The rate of cesarean deliveries continues to increase to 24.4 percent of all births, with a 7 percent increase between 2000 and 2001.
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