U.S. Birth Rate Reaches Record Low [why have the women given up?]

HHS | June 2003 | Centers for Disease Control

[ex-snook]

U.S. Birth Rate Reaches Record Low
Births to Teens Continue 12-Year Decline; Cesarean Deliveries Reach All-Time High

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 25, 2003

The U.S. birth rate fell to the lowest level since national data have been available, reports the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) birth statistics released today by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.  Secretary Thompson also noted that the rate of teen births fell to a new record low, continuing a decline that began in 1991.

The birth rate was 13.9 per 1,000 persons in 2002, a decline of 1 percent from the rate of 14.1 per 1,000 in 2001 and down 17 percent from the recent peak in 1990 (16.7 per 1,000), according to a new CDC report, “Births: Preliminary Data for 2002.”  The current low birth rate primarily reflects the smaller proportion of women of childbearing age in the U.S. population, as baby boomers age and Americans are living longer.

There has also been a recent downturn in the birth rate for women in the peak childbearing ages.  Birth rates for women in their 20s and early 30s were generally down while births to older mothers (35-44) were still on the rise.  Rates were stable for women over 45.

Birth rates among teenagers were down in 2002, continuing a decline that began in 1991. The birth rate fell to 43 births per 1,000 females 15-19 years of age in 2002, a 5-percent decline from 2001 and a 28-percent decline from 1990. The decline in the birth rate for younger teens, 15-17 years of age, is even more substantial, dropping 38 percent from 1990 to 2002 compared with a drop of 18 percent for teens 18-19 years.

“The reduction in teen pregnancy has clearly been one of the most important public health success stories of the past decade,” Secretary Thompson said. “The fact that this decline in teen births is continuing represents a significant accomplishment.”

More than one fourth of all children born in 2002 were delivered by cesarean; the total cesarean delivery rate of 26.1 percent was the highest level ever reported in the United States. The number of cesarean births to women with no previous cesarean birth jumped 7 percent and the rate of vaginal births after previous cesarean delivery dropped 23 percent.  The cesarean delivery rate declined during the late 1980s through the mid-1990s but has been on the rise since 1996.

Among other significant findings:

In 2002, there were 4,019,280 births in the United States, down slightly from 2001 (4,025,933).

The percent of low birthweight babies (infants born weighing less than 2,500 grams) increased to 7.8 percent, up from 7.7 percent in 2001 and the highest level in more than 30 years.  In addition, the percent of preterm births (infants born at less than 37 weeks of gestation) increased slightly over 2001, from 11.9 percent to 12 percent.

More than one-third of all births were to unmarried women.  The birth rate for unmarried women was down slightly in 2002 to 43.6 per 1,000 unmarried women, reflecting the growing number of unmarried women in the population

Access to prenatal care continued a slow and steady increase.  In 2002, 83.8 percent of women began receiving prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, up from 83.4 percent in 2001 and 75.8 percent in 1990.

Data on births are based on information reported on birth certificates filed in State vital statistics offices and reported to CDC through the National Vital Statistics System.  The report is available on CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics Web site.

[wazoo1031]

By the way, when you shake your head, is that up and down in agreement or left and left, (oops I meant right), in disagreement? Please do not judge me from one comment.

[DoughtyOne]

Where's Jack Buck, that's all I want to know? Both broadcast for the St. Louis Cardinals when I was a young kid listening from the country on pitch black nights. I can't think of either of those two without thinking of both and those nights. Pretty cool.

[wazoo1031]

I applaud in your direction! Well said!

[Clemenza]

Everywhere I walk in this city, I see Mexican women pushing baby carriages while surrounded by three other kids. I see the Arab Muslim families in my neighborhood squeezing five children, two parents and a grandmother in apartments fit for two people. Yet when I go to Manhattan, I see "nannies" pushing one white child or, at the most, two.

[sarcasm]

I see the Arab Muslim families in my neighborhood squeezing five children, two parents and a grandmother in apartments fit for two people.

New York becomes more and more like a third-world city.

[Churchjack]

I know the major cities like Dallas still have barrios, where the hood mentality may have overtaken community values. But out here in the boonies...

One of the shifts at the factory I work at had a dinner at the local steak house in Ennis. There's a dozen guys on the shift. One didn't show up, but all the others did with wives in tow--and there was only one couple there that wasn't a racially mixed marriage.

I think big cities are just full of crazy people of all colors~

[Siamese Princess]

Another reason for the very low birthrate is that the welfare state renders the family unnecessary.

Which is why it must be abolished.

The welfare state also renders virtue unnecessary -- "traditional" moral values are traditional because they were necessities, not lifestyle options. Now you can't fail in life -- the government will take care of you no matter how selfish, irresponsible and immoral you are.

This is a major reason for the moral rot of recent decades.

[jwalsh07]

Not hardly, now the guy next to us he had it tough. He didn't have a tent.

[Siamese Princess]

Everywhere I walk in this city, I see Mexican women pushing baby carriages while surrounded by three other kids. I see the Arab Muslim families in my neighborhood squeezing five children, two parents and a grandmother in apartments fit for two people. Yet when I go to Manhattan, I see "nannies" pushing one white child or, at the most, two.

These people are accustomed to living in crowded conditions -- ten people in a one bedroom apartment or shack is normal. Plus they have running water, electricity and indoor plumbing. Mexicans in America actually have a higher birthrate than Mexicans in Mexico -- they earn more money and can collect welfare, foodstamps, etc. The birthrate in Mexico is at about replacement level now.

Many Muslims are professionals but many are not. I read somewhere (I think in a Daniel Pipes' piece) that 23% of Muslims are on a major welfare program. So Mohammed the convenience with a wife and six kids to support is probably collecting some sort of government handout.

In both cases, the American people are subsidizing their own replacements.

[LizardQueen]

What are now Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, were then mostly farms.

Let alone areas like Long island, etc.

I grew up on Long Island, my family has been there nearly since the Dutch showed up. The entire south half of the town I grew up in was farms when my parents moved there. It's wall to wall houses now.

And my great-grandparents owned a large farm in Nassau county. When my great-grandfather died, his wife didn't do a good job managing it and it was sold off piece by piece to pay for taxes. It's now the site of the Green Acres shopping mall.

LQ

[Fraulein]

I wish more people were "selfish" and didn't have kids, instead of having them and neglecting them, abusing them, treating them as fashion accessories, and all in all doing a crappy job of parenting them.

On the one hand, I agree with you. On the other hand, I know that if my parents had agreed with you, then I wouldn't be here. A real conundrum. :)

[ricpic]

"You cannot think any place to remote to be bulldozed."

The fact is that most of the habitable rural United States is already thickly populated. I live in Vermont. With the exception of the higher elevations of the Green Mountains, which get too damned cold for most people to endure, the rest of the so called rural areas have very few stretches where there aren't houses around every turn in the road. The same is true for most of the northeast. From what I've seen that also holds for most of the South, Midwest and west coast.

It's only in desert areas of the west or parts of the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana that are just too far from amenitie for most people's comfort, that the country is under-populated

[Windsong]

"Let's face it, when was the last time you saw a movie that depicted two happy parents with several happy children?"

Family Man, with Nicholas Cage. But some people simply don't want kids b/c they don't want a heart attack before 60 :)

[whd23]

XRP:

Whatever you do, don't buy into the idea that Asian women are subservient and complacent. My South Korean wife would tear my head off if I expected that behavior from her! :)

Oh, here's another tip for when you begin your search: If you're thinking about marrying a first generation immigrant, be sure to familiarize yourself with their country's food. You'll be getting a lot of it cooked in your house and it's easier when you like to eat it too! (At our house we've got a smaller refrigerator for the kimchee and whatnot: I call it the "stinky fridge")

[Xenalyte]

Would you rather I had one and didn't parent well? I'm just honest about my shortcomings.

[ex-snook]

"Yet when I go to Manhattan, I see "nannies" pushing one white child or, at the most, two."

That used to depend on whether you walked on Columbus/Amsterdam or West End Ave! But on West End you were just as likely to see the walker with a Pekingese dog.

Sort of like today. Some young couples prefer dog(s). Let's call them DIPSs (double income, pooper scooper).

[Black Agnes]

Most of the 'immigrants' in my town aren't being absorbed into any economy except the welfare one. This will continue apace. The first wave of immimgration to this country in the late 1800's/early 1900's was driven by the industrialists desire for cheap labor. Toward the end of the nineteen teens however, it became apparent that immigration was in effect 'importing the revolution'. Not wishing this to be a Socialist/Communist country, the industrialists of the day put the kibosh on immigration. NOW however, these same industrialists are no longer 'American Enterprises' but international companies. They no longer care where their employees are located so long as they can pay them pennies an hour. The desire for immigration now is driven by a 'need' to import a new electorate. You see, the previous electorate (1965ish) wasn't 'going commie/socialist' fast enough and they still had that pesky 'country loyalty' thing going on. You know, patriotism. Import enough immigrants from socialist countries (man oh man are we!) and 'help' them fail to assimilate (you know, multiculturalism and 'diversity' and all that) and we are well on our way to being replaced as an electorate. Hope you like living in a 3rd world pest hole...cuz we're headed there fast.

[Nowhere Man]

A lot of the smart women in Atlanta that I encounter are not wanting kids because it will interfere with their careers. I'm 30 now and not planning on waiting til women have their biological clocks near exploding so I can be a first time father at 40 or 45. If 35 comes and I'm still single, I'm going to get an Asian bride or something like that...

I'm 37 and still looking myself. Deep down inside I can't blame men for looking for a bride from Russia, Asia, etc., because of what has gone on in the last 30+ years although that can backfire as well.

[Nowhere Man]

I was merely stating a fact, not rendering an opinion on Mexicans and Muslims as neighbors. Learn to differentiate. Personally, I'm adaptable and trust in Divine Providence so I tend not to worry about such things. Mexicans, for the most part, are wonderful people and make fine neighbors. If they just learn the language and become Americans, I have no problem with letting them come in to fill the gaps our contraceptophile culture has created. On this I agree with Teddy Roosevelt (see above), not Pat B.

Same thing here, I have no problem with Mexicans, for the most part, they are family oriented and religious (Catholic) which we need more in our society, my only problem is when they come here, they need to learn English.