Births: Preliminary Data for 2015

NCHS has released a new report presenting preliminary 2015 data on U.S.births.

Births are shown by age and race and Hispanic origin of mother. Data on marital status, cesarean delivery, preterm births, and low birthweight.

Findings:

• The 2015 preliminary number of U.S. births was 3,977,745, down slightly (less than 1%) from 2014.
• For the three largest race and Hispanic origin groups in the United States, the number of births decreased for non-Hispanic white women, increased for Hispanic women, and were essentially unchanged for non-Hispanic black women in 2015.
• The general fertility rate was 62.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, down less than 1% from 2014.
• The birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 decreased 8% in 2015 to 22.3 births per 1,000 women, another historic low for the country; rates decreased for both younger and older teenagers to record lows.
• The birth rate for women in their early 20s declined to 76.9 births per 1,000 women, another record low.
• The rate for women in their late 20s declined as well, to 104.3 births, also a record low.
• Birth rates for women in their 30s and early40s increased in 2015.The nonmarital birthrate declined 1% in 2015, to 43.5 births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44.
• The cesarean delivery rate declined for the third year in a row to 32.0%, and the low-risk cesarean delivery rate declined again to 25.7% in 2015.
• The preterm birth rate (based on obstetric estimate of gestation) was up slightly in 2015 to 9.62%, the first increase in this rate since 2007.
• The low birthweight rate was also up in 2015 to 8.07%.