Health News / By Drucilla Dyess

Birth rates in the U.S. have dropped for the third year in a row, and teen births haves plummeted. Experts speculate that the continued decline is due to a tough American economy.

According to the latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the birth rate among all races, and the majority of age groups, is down 3 percent from last year’s all time low.

The most significant decline was noted for teens aged 15 to 19, and women aged 20 to 24, for whom rates plunged by 9 percent and 6 percent, respectively. These rates now mark the lowest recorded since government tracking began in 1946-47.

In addition, birth rates for unmarried women fell by 4 percent, and the rate of cesarean-section birth leveled off for the first time since 1996. After rising from 21 percent in 1996 to 32.9 percent in 2009, the rate dropped slightly to 32.8 in 2010.

While the decline in birth rates for 2008 and 2009 led to suspicions that the economy was driving the downturn, the reported rates for 2010 leave little doubt. The trend began with the onset of the recession in 2007, after birth rates hit an all-time record high of more than 4.3 million, and it has continued as women face financial worries that have forced them to put their plans for starting a family on hold, and make the tough decision not to have another child.

In 2008, the number of American births declined to about 4.2 million, followed by a drop to 4.1 million in 2009. According to the CDC report for 2010, the number of births has now decreased to a little more than 4 million.

Other findings of the report revealed a continuing decline in the number of premature births occurring at less than 37 weeks of gestation. The preterm birth rate fell for the fourth straight year in 2010, to just fewer than 12 percent of all births, which accounts for a 6 percent drop since 2006.

Rates for Women Over 40 Increase – Page 2