Fewer Babies Being Born

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that the provisional birth data for 2009 shows a 2.6% decrease in the number of births.  They are estimating that 4,136,000 births occurs in 2009 compared to 4,247,000 births in 2008.  In 2008 the numbers of babies being born to mothers under 40 is decreasing, though there is still a rise in births to mothers over 40. This may also be the case in the 2009 numbers, but we will need to wait for the final birth data.

So why is the birth rate dropping?  It's all speculation at this point, but the economic downturn could be playing a part in the lower birth rates.  The economy started to drop off at the end of 2007 and the CDC said that they need to wait until all the data from 2009 is finished to make this connection stronger. Of course, then there are the weather related baby booms coming this year from all the storms last winter.  Who knows what 2010 will look like and whether or not it will continue this decrease.

_Source:

_{Births, Marriages, Divorces, Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009}