U.S. Birth Rates Dip for the Second Straight Year

U.S. birth rates dip for second straight year may be due to the economic downturn

The economic downturn, the worst since The Great Depression of the 1930s, may have caused the number of births in the U.S. to decrease for the second straight year, as more women chose to delay pregnancy and motherhood.

Even as the total population rose slightly, the number of births dipped 2.6 percent to 4.14 million in 2009, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Birthrate dropped to 13.5 per 1,000 people, up from 14.3 in 2007 when sub prime loans collapsed which led to decreased home prices and over 8 million jobs were lost.

According to the CDC, births decreased to a level that is not sufficient to replace the previous generation. Even in 2008, there was already a recorded decline in the number of births in younger women. Those who are over 40 continued to have more babies since they are thought to be more financially stable and cannot afford to delay motherhood any longer.

“There is quite possibly a connection between the decline in births and the economic downturn in the last couple of years,” the CDC report said. “The recession appears to have started in late 2007, and declines in births in 2008 and 2009 would be consistent with that.”

More specific information about the ages of mothers giving birth in 2009 will provide more clues of the connection between the recession and declining birth rates, but data would not be available until next year, the CDC said.

Posted by George Daniels on Saturday August 28 2010, 8:49 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0