U.S. births dropped 2% from 2016 to 2017, hitting a new 30-year low, according to provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Roughly 3.8 million infants were born in 2017. This marks a 3-year decline in U.S. births. Among the other findings in the report:
- The fertility rate fell 3% from the previous year, hitting 60.2 births per 1000 women aged 15 to 44.
- Women in their early 40s were the only age group to see an increase in birth rates.
- The birth rate among teens aged 15 to 19 fell 7%.
- The cesarean birth rate inched up to 32%.
- For the third year in a row, the preterm delivery rate rose, now at nearly 10%.