U.S. Birth Rates Decline, Again

A new report shows the U.S. birth rate fell for the fourth straight year in a row.

The birth rate declined by 1 percent, but that decline is less than the 2 to 3 percent decline in recent years. Experts believe that this could be a sign that people are feeling more financially stable, according to the Huffington Post.

 A reason for fewer babies

“It may be that the effect of the recession is slowly coming to an end,” said Carl Haub, a senior demographer with the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization.

“Experts suggest that much of the fertility decline that occurs during an economic decline is postponement of childbearing and does not represent a decision to have fewer children. In other words, people put off having children during the economic downturn, and then catch up on fertility once economic conditions improve.”

Report shows other interesting figures

Other highlights CDC report include:

• The birthrate for single women fell for the third straight year, dropping by 3 percent from 2010 to 2011. The birthrate for married women, however, rose 1 percent.
•  The birthrate for Hispanic women dropped 6 percent, but it declined only 2 percent for black women, stayed the same for whites and actually rose a bit for Asian-American and Pacific Islanders.
• Birth rates fell again for women in their early 20s, down 5 percent from 2010 — the lowest mark for women in that age group since 1940, when comprehensive national birth records were first compiled. For women in their late 20s, birthrates fell 1 percent.
• Birthrates held steady for women in their early 30s, and rose for moms ages 35 and older.

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  Birthrates for teen moms have been falling since 1991 and hit another historic low. The number of teen births last year — about 330,000 — was the fewest in one year since 1946. The teen birthrate fell 8 percent, and at 31 per 1,000 girls ages 15 through 19 was the lowest recorded in more than seven decades.