What You Won’t Read in the Media about the New Birth Data

Christine Kim / April 08, 2010

Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released preliminary U.S. birth data for 2008.  A flurry of news stories followed.

Two statistics dominated the headlines: the total number of births fell by 2 percent, after peaking in 2007, and teen birthrates declined as well, reversing a slight two-year uptick.

But the mainstream media completely ignored the most genuinely concerning trend in childbearing.  In 2008, more than 4 in 10 children, or about 1.7 million births, were born to unmarried mothers.

For decades, unmarried childbearing has been trending unrelentingly upward.  In 1960, about 5.3 percent of all births were to unmarried mothers.  Ten years later, it had doubled to 10.7 percent.  By 1980, it was 18.4 percent, and in 1990, 28 percent. (more…)