In 2014, birth rates among U.S. women increased by 1 percent from the previous year. At first glance, that bump might not seem so newsworthy, but it is — this is the first time that U.S. birth rates have increased in seven years. The plateau of birth rates since 2007 coincided with the economic recession that began that very same year, so this uptick in births could offer yet another sign of the economy's improvement.
The biggest boost in birth rates came from moms in their 30s and early 40s, according to the data published by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. For women between the ages of 30 and 39, the birth rate increased by 3 percent, and for women ages 40 to 44, it went up 2 percent. Another notable increase was among Asian babies, whose birth rate jumped 6 percent. The baby count of 2014 came to a grand total of 3.98 million.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.