American Women Are Having Fewer Kids —and Having Them Later in Life, Report Says

American women are having fewer children than in years past, and having them later in life, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The U.S.’ total fertility rate — or the estimated number of lifetime births expected from a group of 1,000 women — hit its most recent peak in 2007, the report says. But in the decade following, fertility rates fell, while the average age of first-time mothers rose, according to the data. These trends are happening all over the U.S., but especially in cities — and gulfs between urban and rural areas are widening. In large metro counties, total fertility rates fell by 18% between 2007 and 2017, from 2,096 to 1,712, while average first-time maternal age rose from nearly 26 to almost 28. In smaller metro counties, fertility rates fell by 16%, from 2,110 to 1,778, and first-time maternal age rose from around 24 to almost 26. And in rural counties, fertility rates fell by 12%, from around 2,206 to 1,950, and first-time maternal age rose from just over 23 to 24.5. Women in rural areas have traditionally had more children than women in cities, and begun having them younger. But the report shows that the differences are becoming more pronounced over time. In 2007, fertility rates in rural counties were just 5% higher than in metro areas of all sizes; by 2017, they were 10% higher than in small and medium cities, and 14% higher than in large ci...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized fertility healthytime onetime Source Type: news