The overall fertility rate was 56.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15-44, holding relatively steady from the rate of 56.3 in 2021. After a sharp drop in 2020, birth rates rose in 2021 — the first increase since 2014 — but the numbers still reflect a decline that began before the pandemic. When people have their first child later, they tend to have fewer children overall, Levine explained. Birth rates among women in their late 30s and early 40s rose in the last decade, and the birth rate among women over 45 also exceeded one birth per 1,000 population for the first time in more than a decade. Meanwhile, the teen birth rate dropped to a record low in 2022.

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Persons: Phil Levine, Levine, ” Levine, “, Carolina Aragão, ” Aragão Organizations: US Centers for Disease Control, Wellesley College, Brookings Institution, CNN, Pew Research Center, CDC Locations: Carolina