| HEALTH STATUS - Reproductive Health |
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The total birth rate in the U.S. in 2000 was 14.7 births per 1,000 population, a 1 percent increase from the record low rate reported in 1999. Not surprisingly, younger women had a higher birth rate than older women. However, birth rates for women in their twenties and early thirties were relatively stable with only small increases over the past 20 years, while the birth rates for women aged 35 and older made substantial increases, matching highs reported 30 or more years ago.
Childbearing peaked among White and Asian or Pacific Islander women in 2000 at 25-29 years, compared to 20-24 years among Hispanic, Black, and American Indian women. Fertility rates for Asian or Pacific Islander women remained high as these women entered their thirties.
Of the 4 million live births in 2000, 3.2 million were to White women. Though Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander women had higher fertility rates, they had fewer births than White women, approximately 816,000 and 201,000, respectively. The number of live births made small but steady increases for each racial and ethnic group since 1970.
