SAN ANTONIO — The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics shows the birth rate in the U.S. hit a 32-year low.
- Teen births at record lows
- Late 30s and early 40s births increasing
- 3.8 million babies born last year
This is the fourth year in a row the number of births has fallen. One major factor — the number of births for teens and women in their 20s dipped to record lows.
Health officials tell us birth rates among teens in Bexar County declined from nearly 11 percent from 2008 to 2012 to 7 percent from 2013 to 2017.
The decline in teen births is being felt all across the state. In 2016 Texas ranked fourth in the nation for teen pregnancies. In 2017 Texas ranked lower, coming in at number seven.
The only two groups in the U.S. with slightly higher birth rates last year were women in their late 30s and early 40s. Women waiting longer to start families is a growing global trend.
Statewide, the CDC calculated fertility rates based on birth certificate data from 2017. It found the total fertility rate for Texas was more than 1,900 births per 1,000 women. That's above the national rate of around 1,700 births for one-thousand women.
In all, about 3.8 million babies were born in the U.S. last year.