The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released the 2002 pregnancy rates. For the most part, the news is depressing. MSN Link. Excerpts:
The big news from the latest report on birth trends put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is that women and men are waiting longer to start families, and fewer people are having babies -- the U.S. birth rate slid to an all-time low in 2002, the most recent year the CDC examined. (They're compliling data from 2003 now, but the final numbers aren't out yet -- and the big trends haven't changed.) . . .
All about moms
Waiting longer: First-time moms were about 25 years old on average -- an all-time high in the United States. In 1970, the average age for first-time moms was about 21. How old were you when you had your first child? Take our poll.
Midlife mothers: Birth rates for women ages 35 to 39 were higher than ever (moms in their mid to late 30s accounted for more than 450,000 babies). The number of moms in their 40s also increased -- the birth rate for women ages 40 to 44 has gone up 51 percent since 1990, mostly because of fertility treatments.
More unmarried moms: More than a third of all babies were born to unmarried women, a record high.
