Birth Rate in United States Remained Unchanged From 2021 to 2022

THURSDAY, April 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The birth rate in the United States was essentially unchanged from 2021 to 2022, according to the April 4 National Vital Statistics Reports, a publication from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Michelle J.K. Osterman, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues describe trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics based on birth certificates in 2022.

The researchers found there were 3,667,758 births in the United States in 2022, which was essentially unchanged from 2021. From 2021 to 2022, there was a 1 percent decline in the general fertility rate to 56.0 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 44 years. The birth rate decreased 2 percent for females ages 15 to 19 years, decreased 7 percent for women ages 20 to 24 years, increased 1 to 5 percent for women ages 25 to 29 and 35 to 44 years, and increased 12 percent for women ages 45 to 49 years. There was a decline of less than 1 percent in the total fertility rate to 1,656.5 births per 1,000 women in 2022. From 2021 to 2022, birth rates declined for unmarried women and increased for married women.

There was no change noted in the cesarean delivery rate in 2022 (32.1 percent). For 41.3 percent of births, Medicaid was the source of payment. A 1 percent decrease was seen in the preterm birth rate, to 10.38 percent, while the low birthweight rate increased 1 percent, to 8.60 percent.

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