Fertility Rate Continued Four-Year Decline, Reaching Record Low In 2018, CDC Data Show

reports that the rate of births dropped again in 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics, “extending a lengthy decline as women wait until they are older to have children.” In addition, “there were 59.1 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age in the country last year, a record low.” The rate was down 2% from 2017, and “has fallen by about 15 percent since 2007.” NBC News (11/27, Edwards) reports that the data also indicated a downward trend for babies being born to smoking mothers, with 6.5% of the women who gave birth in 2018 reporting having used “a tobacco product, a 6 percent decline from 2017.” https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/u-s-birth-rate-falls-4th-year-row-n1091446