Statistics about Babies, Childbirth, Parenthood, Pregnancy and other aspects about Having a Baby:

65%:  Mothers who exclusively breast feed their baby for the first six months of life lower the risk of respiratory and gastrointestinaltract infections an average of 65%.  If six months is too long for busy moms, exclusively breasting for the first four months of a baby's life (but no less) lowers the risk of infections by 45%.  Percentage of pregnant women who actually get enough exercise.  Guidlines call for 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise (anyting that leads to a light sweat) per week.  This can reduce aches, ease constipation and lower the risk of high birth weight for the baby.

SOURCE:  World Health Organization and a 2010 study from the Neatherlands.

23%:  Percentage of pregnant women who actually get enough exercise.  Guidlines call for 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise (anyting that leads to a light sweat) per week.  This can reduce aches, ease constipation and lower the risk of high birth weight for the baby.

SOURCE:  Lab Report.  TIME Magazine.  April 26, 2010

Nearly 1/3:  Percentage of US babies born by cesarean.  This is a 53% rise over the course of a decade. A contributing factor?  Boost in multible births resulting from reproductive technologies.

SOURCE:  Centers for Disease Controal and Prevention

5 Times More Frequently:  Percentage that women give birth to triplets or higher multiples today compared to 1972.

SOURCE:  TIME Magazine, Oct. 26th 2009

39%:  Percentage of all births are to unmarried mothers.  Compare that to 12% in 1972.

SOURCE:  TIME Magazine, Oct. 26th 2009

50%+:  Percentage of babies born today that will live to be over 100 years old in the major industrailized nations.

SOURCE:  2009 study by the Danish Aging Research Center at the University of Southern Denmark.  Study looked at data from more than 30 developed countries.

61%:  At 3 months, percentageof babies who are formular-fed.  Plus, 34% of breastfed babies also receive formula during first three months.

SOURCE:  Pediatrics, October 2009

70%:  Percentage of new mothers who are more anxious about money since having a child.

SOURCE:  Survey results conducted by BabyCenter (thousands of moms participated) and released in an article called “The Real Cost of Raising a Baby” by Deborah Pike Olsen. Data last updated August 2007

$10,000: Amount a couple will spend on their baby in the first year

SOURCE:  Same as above

40%: Percentage of moms who said that having a baby costs a lot more than they expected.

SOURCE:  Same as above

35%: Percentage of families who plan to or will move into a new home after having 1st child.

SOURCE:  Same as above

4.3 million:  Number of births in the United States in 2006. Of this number, 435,427 were to teens 15 to 19, and 112,432 to mothers 40 or older.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

25.2:  Average age of women in 2005 when they gave birth for the first time. This is up 3.8 years since 1970.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

40%:  Percentage of births that were the mother’s first in 2006. Another 32 percent were the second-born; 17 percent, third; and 11 percent, fourth or more.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

37,402:  Number of births in 2005 that did not occur in hospitals.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

1 in 31:  The likelihood of a woman delivering twins in 2005. Her chances of delivering triplets and higher order multiple births was approximately 1 in 618.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

August:  The month with the highest number of births, with 369,316 taking place that month in 2005.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

Tuesday: The day of the week with the highest number of births, with an average of 13,169 taking place on Tuesdays during 2005.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

Jacob and Emily:  The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2006.

Source: Social Security Administration

55%: Among mothers with infants in 2004, the percentage in the labor force, down from a record high of 59 percent in 1998.

Source: Fertility of American Women 

67%: Percentage of women who gave birth for the first time between 2001 and 2003 and worked during their pregnancy. This compares with 44 percent who gave birth for the first time between 1961 and 1965. 

Source: Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-2003

55%:  The percentage of first-time mothers in the early part of this decade who were working by the sixth month after they gave birth. In the early 1960s, the corresponding percentage was 14 percent. 

Source: Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-2003

83%:  The percentage of mothers who went back to work within a year of their child’s birth who returned to the same employer. Seven in 10 of these women returned to jobs at the same pay, skill level and hours worked per week.

Source: Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-2003

2.1:  The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2006 — the first time since 1971 that the nation’s TFR was at replacement level, which is the birth rate required to replace the population.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

94.1:  Number of births in 2006 per 1,000 women of childbearing age in Utah, which led the nation.  At the other end of the spectrum was Vermont, with a rate of 52.2 births.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

55%:  Percentage of 15- to 44-year-olds who are mothers.

Source: Fertility of American Women 

1.9:  Average number of children that women 40 to 44 had given birth to as of 2006, down from 3.1 children in 1976, the year the Census Bureau began collecting such data. 

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2006

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