A Few Birth Rate Statistics

From a recent birth rate report for 2005 by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS):

Childbearing by women in their thirties and forties continued to increase.

The birth rate for women aged 30–34 years rose slightly between 2004 and 2005, to 95.9 births per 1,000, the highest rate since 1964.

The rate for women aged 35-39 years rose to 46.3 births per 1,000, 2 percent over the rate in 2004 and the highest rate since 1965. (Advanced Maternal Age (AMA) is defined as 35 years old or older.)

The birth rate for women 40–44 years also rose by 2 percent, to 9.1, the highest rate since 1968, and the rate for women aged 45–49 years increased slightly, to 0.6 births per 1,000 women, the first increase in the rate since 2000 and the highest rate for this age group since 1970.

The complete report is available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelimbirths05/prelimbirths05.htm