Women in the U.S. are having fewer babies. What’s driving this trend?

Jul 9, 2021

The United Sates has seen a 50% decline in birth rates between 1950 and 2021. Image: Unsplash/Tucker Good

Ann M. Oberhauser

Professor of Sociology, Iowa State University

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United States

In recent years, the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (ages 15 to 44) in the U.S. has been decreasing. Image: National Center for Health Statistic

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In 2019, nine states and the District of Columbia had birth rates just below or far below the national average of 58.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. Image: CDC via Kaiser Family Foundation

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