Lowest in 100 years: U.S. fertility rate plummets

According to a government report released Wednesday, May 5, the U.S. fertility rate fell 4% last year, the largest annual decline in nearly 50 years. Writes about it APNews.

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This rate has dropped for mums of all races and nationalities and in almost all age groups. This is the lowest level since the federal health authorities began tracking it over a century ago.

For many years, the fertility rate of young women has been declining, as many of them postponed motherhood. During this time, the birth rate among women between the ages of 30 and 40 was gradually increasing. But not last year.

“The fact that the decline in fertility even among older mothers is so noticeable is quite striking,” said Brady Hamilton of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), author of the new report.

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The CDC report is based on an analysis of over 99% of birth certificates issued in the past year. The findings echo a recent 2020 Associated Press analysis from 25 states showing fertility declined during the coronavirus outbreak.

Experts say the pandemic undoubtedly contributed to last year's sharp decline. Concerns about COVID-19 and its impact on the economy have likely made many couples think that having a baby right now is a bad idea.

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But many of the 2020 pregnancies started well before the pandemic. The CDC researchers are working on a follow-up report to better understand how the decline in fertility progressed, Hamilton said.

Other highlights from the CDC report:

• About 3,6 million babies were born in the United States last year, up from 3,75 million in 2019. When the birth rate rose in 2007, there were 4,3 million new babies born in the United States.
• The U.S. fertility rate has dropped to about 56 babies per 1000 women of childbearing age, the lowest ever. This is half what it was in the early 1960s.
• The birth rate among people between the ages of 15 and 19 has decreased by 8% compared to 2019. Since 1991, it has been decreasing almost every year.
• The birth rate among Asian American women fell by 8%; by 3% among Hispanic women; by 4% among black and white women; by 6% among Indians and Alaska Natives.
• The incidence of cesarean section increased slightly, to about 32%. Overall, the birth rate has been declining since 2009.
• Some good news: The percentage of babies born small and premature (less than 37 weeks gestation) has dropped slightly to 10% after rising for five straight years.
• The current generation more and more often does not burden itself with the birth of children in order to at least replace itself with the same number.
• The United States was once one of the few developed countries with a birth rate that ensured that every generation would have enough children to replace it. About 12 years ago, there were 2,1 children per woman in the United States. But this ratio has steadily declined and fell to about 1,6 last year, the lowest on record.

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