Record 4 in 10 babies are born out of wedlock
By Mike StobbeAssociated Press
ATLANTA -- Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, according to government health officials.
Though out-of-wedlock births long have been associated with teen mothers, the birth rate among girls ages 10 to 17 dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s.
Experts said the overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married. They said it also reflects the fact that having a child out of wedlock is more acceptable nowadays.
The increase in births to unwed mothers was seen in all racial groups but rose most sharply among Hispanics. It was up among all age groups except youngsters ages 10 to 17.
"A lot of people think of teenagers and unmarried mothers synonymously, but they are not driving this," said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, a co-author of the report released Tuesday.
The government also reported that the rate of births by Caesarean delivery continued to climb in 2005 to a record, despite efforts by public health authorities to decrease it.
Many experts think a large number of C-sections are medically unnecessary.
The government report includes information from 99 percent of U.S. birth certificates filed last year.
About 4.1 million babies were born in the U.S. last year, up slightly from 2004. More than 1.5 million of those were to unmarried women; that is about 37 percent of the total. In 2004, about 36 percent of births were out of wedlock.
Out-of-wedlock births have been rising since the late 1990s.
Several factors may be contributing to the trend, said Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, an adolescent-medicine specialist at Atlanta's Morehouse School of Medicine.
More women in their 30s and 40s, hearing their biological clock, are choosing to give birth despite their single status. Younger women are not as worried about being unmarried, either, she added.