U.S. births and fertility rates have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, according to a new report.
About 3.85 million babies were born in 2017, down 2% from the year before and the lowest in 30 years, according to provisional birth data from the National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System (http://bit.ly/2J7EWWO).
Births declined 3% for white women, 2% for Hispanic women and stayed about the same for black women.
There was a record low 60.2 births per 1,000 women ages 15-44 in 2017, down 3% from 2016. Teen birth rates have continued to drop. There were 18.8 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, down 7% from 2016 and 70% from 1991.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Academy recommend (http://bit.ly/1AzHpLd) adolescents use long-acting reversible contraception methods like intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants as they don’t require additional action like remembering to take a daily pill.
About 10% of babies were born preterm, a figure that has increased for three consecutive years. Researchers attributed the latest increase to an uptick in late preterm births. Roughly 14% of black infants, 10% of Hispanic infants and 9% of white infants were born preterm.
