Birth Statistics

Consider the most recent statistics available from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• In 2005, 4,105,000 babies were born in the US.
• The mean age for women having their first baby in 2003 is 25.2 years, compared with 25.1 years in 2002.
• Birth rates for women 35 to 39 (43.8 births per 1,000 women) and 40 to 44 (8.7 births per 1,000 women) were the highest in more than three decades.
• The birth rate for teenagers, ages 15 to 19 years, dropped 3 percent between 2002 and 2003, a record low. The current rate for teens is 41.6 births per 1,000 teens.
• In 2003, the twin birth rate continued to rise, increasing 1 percent between 2002 and 2003. The current rate is 31.5 twin births per 1,000 women.
• The preterm birth rate (less than 37 weeks in the womb) was 12.5 percent in 2004.
• Cesarean deliveries accounted for 29.1percent of all births in 2004. 

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