American women are having more babies after years of holding off since the beginning of the recession in 2007. The US birth rate saw a small 1% jump from 2013 to 2014, with 3.98 million births—the highest number since 2010, USA Today reports. The CDC data shows older women are largely responsible, with births among women in their 30s up 3%; births among women in their 40s rose 2%, reports the Verge. Why now? "The recession is ending—we think it's ending—for some people, so we might attribute a rise in the birth rate" to the economy, says a demographer. "I think as people feel their paycheck is more stable, it feels like a safe environment to have a child in," a researcher adds.
The teen birth rate continues to decline, falling to a historic low of 249,067 births last year. That's a 9% drop from 2013, when 305,000 teen moms gave birth. The birth rate among women 15 to 19 has now fallen by 60% over 25 years. The study author called the result "amazing." Still, "there remains room for improvement to help teens be in charge of their own fertility and only get pregnant when they wish to get pregnant," a researcher says. The birth rate among single young women also fell, alongside a 2% drop among women in their 20s. As the data was gathered from US birth certificates, women's decisions for having children weren't considered. (This country now has the world's lowest birth rate.)
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