May 17 (UPI) — The birth rate for nearly every group of women in the United States fell to a 30-year low in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
U.S. women in their teens, 20s and 30s had fewer babies last year than in any year since 1987, the statistical report said.
Data based on more than 99 percent of U.S. birth certificates counted 3.853 million births last year, about 92,000 fewer than 2016.
The CDC said the general fertility rate also fell to a record low of 60 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 — a 3 percent drop.
Births for women in their 20s was down 4 percent; slightly down for women in their 30s; 2 percent down for women 30-34 and 1 percent for women 35-39.
The number of teens giving birth fell 7 percent in 2017, continuing a trend since the early 1990s.
The report showed women in their early 40s were the only group with a higher birth rate last year, up 2 percent.
Pre-term babies and low birth weights dropped for the third straight year, and Cesarean deliveries rose slightly.
