Births in the United States went down nearly 2 percent in 2008, according to new figures [PDF] from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Among the report’s highlights:
- The birth rate for U.S. teenagers fell 2 percent, reversing a two-year increase.
- The birth rate for Hispanic teenagers declined to an historic low.
- The cesarean delivery rate rose for the 12th straight year, to 32.3 percent of all births.
- The percentage of births born preterm declined 3 percent.
Health Journalism 2010
Learn more about “Pregnancy and childbirth trends: Issues of safety and choice,” a panel featuring Mark R. Chassin, M.D., president of The Joint Commission; Julie Deardorff, health and fitness reporter at the Chicago Tribune; Alan M. Peaceman, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital; and moderated by Deborah L. Shelton, a Chicago Tribune health reporter.
