CDC: Americans not having enough babies to sustain population
The fertility rate in the U.S. has hit a 30-year low, and Americans are not having enough babies to replace themselves, according to a new report from the federal government.
A report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) titled "National Vital Statistics" found that the country’s fertility rate in 2017 was 16 percent below the level needed for a population to replace itself.
Utah and New Mexico are the only two states in the country with total fertility rates above replacement levels, the report found. Washington, D.C., had the lowest fertility rate.
“Although nearly all states lack a (total fertility rate) that indicates their total population will increase due to births, these results demonstrate that there is variation in fertility patterns within states among groups according to race and Hispanic origin," the researchers wrote.
The total fertility rate is comprised of the expected number of lifetime births per 1,000 women, given current birth rates by age. The report was based on birth certificate data from 2017.
When broken down by race, the results show that non-Hispanic white women do not have fertility rates above replacement level in any states.
Black women had fertility rates above replacement level in 12 states, as did Hispanic women in 29 states, according to the report.
The U.S. fertility rate has been dropping for years and women are generally having babies later in life, the CDC found.
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