But experts expect economic recovery will lead to turnaround
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. birth rate remained at an all-time low in 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
But as the economy continues to improve, births are likely to pick up, experts say.
"By 2016 and 2017, I think we'll start seeing a real comeback," said Dr. Aaron Caughey, chair of obstetrics and gynecology for Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "While the economy is doing better, you're still going to see a lag effect of about a year, and 2014 is the first year our economy really started to feel like it's getting back to normal."
More than 3.9 million births occurred in the United States in 2013, down less than 1 percent from the year before, according to the annual report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
The general fertility rate also declined by about 1 percent in 2013 to 62.5 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, reaching another record low for the United States, the report noted.
Another sign that the post-recession economy is affecting family planning -- the average age of first motherhood continued to increase, rising to age 26 in 2013 compared with 25.8 the year before.
"You had people right out of college having a much harder time getting a first job, and so you're going to see a lot more delay among those people with their first child," Caughey said.
Birth rates for women in their 20s declined to record lows in 2013, but rose for women in their 30s and late 40s. The rate for women in their early 40s was unchanged.
"If you look at the birth rates across age, for women in their 20s, the decline over these births may not be births forgone so much as births delayed," said report co-author Brady Hamilton, a statistician/demographer with the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
The teenage birth rate also reached an historic low in 2013 of 26.5 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19. Rates fell for teens in nearly all ethnic groups, with an overall 10 percent dip from 2012.
source : U.S. Birth Rate Continues Decline, CDC Reports
