In 2002, the US birth rate was the lowest on record. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, the 2002 birth rate was 13.9 births per 1,000 people Ð a total of 4,019,280 births
The main reason for the one percent decline from 2001 is the decline in the number of women of childbearing age in the US population. An encouraging finding is a five percent decline in the number of women 15 to 19 years old having babies. In 2002, there were 43 births per 1,000 people in this age group, down from 46 in 2001.
Other findings from this report include:
• A slight increase in the percentage of low birth weight infants (less than 5 lb, 8 oz) to 7.8% from 7.7%
• A small increase in the number of preterm infants (born at less than 37 weeks of gestation) from 11.9% to 12%
• Slightly more than 26% of births were by cesarean section
• One-third of all births were to unmarried women
• Nearly 84% of all pregnant women received prenatal care beginning in the first trimester of their pregnancy. This represents a continuation of an upward trend.
Births: Preliminary Data for 2002, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
May not be reproduced in any format without written permission.
