Number of births up 1% over 2003

December 2005

Good news concerning job security for pediatricians: the number of births in 2004 was nearly 1% higher than in 2003, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, which recently released the 2004 birth data for the United States.

There were 4.1 million births in 2004, versus just over 4 million in 2003. But many of the infants were smaller and sicker. More than half a million infants were born preterm in 2004, the highest number since national reporting of gestational age began in 1981, according to the NCHS. There were more infants born weighing less than 2,500 grams and more were delivered by cesarean section than before.

Childbearing by unmarried women reached a record high of almost 1.5 million births in 2004, up 4% from 2003. More than 4 in 5 births to teenagers were among unmarried teens. In 2004, 35.7% of all births were to unmarried women.

Teenage birth rates declined again in 2004, but at a much slower pace than observed since the declines started after 1991. The birth rate in 2004 for females aged 15-19 reached an all-time low of 41.2 births per 1,000. This was 1% lower than in 2003 (41.6), and 33% lower than the teen birth rate of 61.8 per 1,000 in 1991.

Childbearing by women in their early 20s also showed a decline. The birth rate for women aged 20–24 years decreased 1%, to 101.8 births per 1,000 women in 2004, the lowest rate ever reported. Women aged 25-29 had the highest birth rate of 115.5 per 1,000 births, which was essentially unchanged from 2003, the report said.

Births to older women continue to increase. From 2003 to 2004, the birth rate for women aged 30-34 years increased less than 1% while the rate for women aged 35-39 years rose by 4%. The birth rate for women 40-44 years increased 3%, to 9.0 per 1,000, and the rate for women aged 45-49 years increased in 2004 to 0.6 births per 1,000 women compared to 0.5 in 2003.

The general fertility rate in 2004 was up slightly – 66.3 live births per 1,000 women, compared with 66.1 live births per 1,000 women in 2003.

For more information:

• Hamilton BE, et al. Preliminary births for 2004. Health E-Stats. National Center for Health Statistics. 2004. Available at www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelim_ births/prelim_births04.htm.