CB00-FF.06 May 3, 2000 Mother's Day, 2000: May 14 How Many Children Do Mothers Have? - Among the 35 million mothers in the United States ages 15 to 44 in 1998, 10.7 million had one child, 14.3 million had two, 6.7 million had three and 3.3 million had four or more. - Women ages 40 to 44 in 1998 had an average of 1.9 children each. Hispanic women in this age group had 2.4 children each, African American women, 2.0 and White women, 1.8. - Perhaps Idaho should be known for more than just potatoes. As of 1998, there were 1,623 births to every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in the Gem State -- among the highest birth rates in the nation. Women in the District of Columbia and Vermont had some of the lowest rates, 823 and 975 births per 1,000 women of childbearing ages, respectively. These rates were not significantly different from one another. - In 1998, women in the 15- to 44-year-old age range in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi and Wyoming were among the most likely to be mothers. About 64 percent in each state had given birth at least once. Those in this age range in the District of Columbia were among the least likely to be moms: 38 percent had given birth at least once. Among states, those in Vermont and Massachusetts were among the least likely to be moms: 48 percent in Vermont and 49 percent in Massachusetts had given birth at least once. The proportion for the District of Columbia does not differ significantly from those of Vermont and Massachusetts. - In 1997, 41 percent of the births that took place were the mother's first, 32 percent were her second, 16 percent, her third and 10 percent, her fourth. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Where Births Take Place - We tend to assume that all births occur in the hospital. While this is usually the case, it is not always true. In 1996, there were 26,000 births nationwide, attended by physicians, midwives or others, that did not occur in hospitals. That was down from 39,000 in 1985. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Working Moms - As of 1998, the majority (59 percent) of women ages 15 to 44 who had given birth in the previous year had returned to the labor force. In 1980, this group was 38 percent. Moms Raising Children Without a Husband - In 1998, a ratio of more than 1 in 5 never-married women ages 15 to 44 were mothers. - In Mississippi, 46 percent of births in 1997 were to unmarried women the highest rate of any state in the nation. Utah, at 17 percent, had the lowest rate. The national average was 32 percent. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html - The number of single mothers in the United States 9.8 million in 1998 has not changed since 1995 after nearly tripling over the previous quarter century. Last year, single mothers comprised about five-sixths of all single parents. They constituted 26 percent of all parent-child families in 1998, up from 12 percent in 1970. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html - A ratio of 1 in 5 single mothers was raising three or more of their own children in 1998. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html - Most single mothers (7.7 million or 78 percent) maintained their own household in 1998. The remainder lived in the home of either a relative or a nonrelative. The majority of single mothers who maintained their own household (69 percent) did not have another adult in the home to help them out. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html - In 1998, 42 percent of single mothers had never married. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html Teen Moms - It's not exactly the norm for women to become mothers before they celebrate their 20th birthday, but it's not uncommon either. As of 1998, 948,000 women ages 15 to 19 or about 1 in 10 women in this age range were mothers. - And in 1997, 13 percent of all births nationwide were to teens. Mississippi, at 21 percent, had the highest rate among states, while Massachusetts, at 7 percent, had the lowest. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Twins - Women giving birth in 1996 had a 1-in-40 chance of delivering twins and a 1-in-650 chance of triplets or other multiple births. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Fortysomethings - As of June 1998, nearly 120,000 women (3 percent) who had given birth during the previous year were in their 40s, double the fewer than 60,000 (2 percent) in this category in 1980. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Motherhood Around the World - For countries with 10 million or more persons, projected 2000 fertility rates worldwide range from a high of 6.99 births per woman in Yemen to 1.25 in Italy. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html Mother's Day Cards - In 1997, the nation's greeting card publishers shipped $212 million worth of Mother's Day cards, up from $148 million in 1992. Fourteen companies shipped $100,000 or more worth of these cards. For the sake of comparison, shipments of Mother's Day cards exceeded those of Easter cards ($116 million) but lagged somewhat behind shipments of Valentine's Day cards ($277 million) and considerably behind shipments of Christmas cards ($571 million). http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97m5111e.pdf The preceding facts come from the Current Population Survey, the Statistical Abstract of the United States and the 1997 Economic Census. The data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Previous 2000 Census Bureau Facts for Features: African American History Month (February), Valentine's Day (February 14), Women's History Month (March), Census Day (April 1) and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May). Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (tel: 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; e-mail: pio@census.gov).