Study: Record number of U.S. births in ‘07

The number of births in the U.S. reached a record high in 2007 according to a National Center for Health Statistics report released on Wednesday.

Over 4.3 million babies were born in the U.S. thus representing a growth of 1%. Increases were found in numerous categories including age and for most races.

According to one demographer, increased immigration and a growing minority population are two factors that explain the “minor baby boom”. Examining data on Latinos, however, reveals a slightly more complex picture:

• The birth rate for Latina teens was one of the few categories that decreased; it fell 2% in 2007 to 81.7 births per 1,000.
• Latinas have the highest rate of children compared to other racial groups – nearly three children per woman.
• Just over one in two babies born to Latinas were born to unwed mothers.
  

Red flags were raised in that the report found growth in births to unwed mothers as well as teenage moms. Why that’s the case is a factor that tends to be politicized:

“The 14 years with teenage birth rates going down was one of the great success stories in public health, and it’s possible that it’s coming to an end,” said Sarah S. Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a private group in Washington…

Still, the reasons for the steep decline and recent reversal are poorly understood. The discussion is colored by politics: some liberals say “abstinence only” sex education and restrictions on distribution of contraceptives are only leading to more pregnancies, while conservatives tend to blame the ever more permissive social climate.

Image- Latina
Online Sources- UPI, USA TODAY, Reuters, New York Times, MSNBC, Guardian UK