CDC: U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low; 40.7% of Babies Born to Unmarried Women

As most of you might know from previous comments, I am fine with an ever-decreasing birthrate. The planet's population has exploded over the past 200-300 years, largely due to increased hygiene (including the invention of the toothbrush) and better nutrition generally, and that doesn't bode well for the future. But while the low birthrate we see in the western world may trouble some, even more troubling is the very high birthrates in parts of the world that can least afford adding to their populations, resulting in unnecessary suffering and conflict over ever-scarcer resources.

But anyway, I post this story because indeed, almost 50% of children now born in the US are born to unwed mothers. This does not necessarily mean the kids will not know or have relationships with their dads, but the odds are higher they won't. The only thing that concerns me is the decrease in the relationships men are having with their kids, to the detriment of both classes of person. Meanwhile, maternal dependence (real or manufactured) on public largesse only increases. How exactly any society can hope to remain productive much less prosperous under these conditions is beyond me. Anyway, here's the excerpt:

'(CNSNews.com) - The birth rate in the United States hit an all-time low in 2011, according to a report released this month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The 2011 preliminary number of U.S. births was 3,953,593, 1 percent less (or 45,793 fewer) births than in 2010; the general fertility rate (63.3 per 1,000 women age 15-44 years) declined to the lowest rate ever reported for the United States,” said the report.

More than 40 percent of all babies born in the country last year, the report said, were born to unmarried women.

While the overall birth rate declined to a record low, the birth rates for women in the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups actually increased from 2010 to 2011.
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In 2010, 33.9 percent of the babies delivered by women 25-29 were delivered by unmarried women, and in 2011 that increased to 34.4 percent. In 2010, 21.1 percent of babies delivered by women 30-34 were delivered by unmarried women, and in 2011 that increased to 21.6 percent. In 2010, 19.6 percent of babies delivered by women 35-39 were delivered by unmarried mothers and in 2011 that increased to 21.1 percent. In 2010, 21.7 percent of babies delivered by women 40 and over were delivered by unmarried mothers and in 2011 that increased to 22.4 percent.'