Series 21

No. 53

Births to Unmarried Mothers:

United States, 1980–92

June 1995

Vital and

Health Statistics

From the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION / National Center for Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
Copyright Information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be

reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is

appreciated.

Suggested Citation

Ventura, SJ. Births to unmarried mothers: United States, 1980–92. National

Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 21(53). 1995.

Library of Congress-in-Publication Data

Ventura, Stephanie J.

Births to unmarried mothers: United States, 1980–92.

p. cm. — (Vital and health statistics. Series 21, Data on natality, marriage,

and divorce; no. 53) (DHHS publication; no. (PHS) 95-1931)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8406-0507-2

1. Illegitimacy—United States. 2. Unmarried mothers—United States

3. Childbirth— United States—Statistics. I. Title. II. Series. III. Series: Vital

and health statistics. Series 21, Data from the national vital statistics system ;

no. 53.

HA211.A3 no. 53

[HQ999.U6]

304.6'3'086947—dc20 95-17424

CIP

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office

Superintendent of Documents

Mail Stop: SSOP

Washington, DC 20402-9328
Births to Unmarried Mothers:

United States, 1980–92

Series 21

Data on Natality, Marriage, and Divorce

No. 53

Trends and variations in births to unmarried women for 1980–92 are

presented by demographic characteristics including age, race,

Hispanic origin, and educational attainment of mother, and live-birth

order. Health aspects of nonmarital childbearing are discussed,

including prenatal care, smoking, maternal weight gain, and infant

birthweight. Social and behavioral factors affecting the incidence of

nonmarital births are described.

Hyattsville, Maryland

June 1995

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 95-1931

Vital and

Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics

Jack R. Anderson, Acting Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Acting Deputy Director

Jacob J. Feldman, Ph.D., Associate Director for Analysis,

Epidemiology, and Health Promotion

Gail F. Fisher, Ph.D., Associate Director for Planning and

Extramural Programs

Peter L. Hurley, Associate Director for Vital and Health

Statistics Systems

Robert B. Hartford, Ph.D., Acting Associate Director for

International Statistics

Stephen E. Nieberding, Associate Director for

Management

Charles J. Rothwell, Associate Director for Data

Processing and Services

Monroe G. Sirken, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research

and Methodology

Office of Vital and Health Statistics Systems

Peter L. Hurley, Associate Director

Division of Vital Statistics

Mary Anne Freedman, Acting Director

James A. Weed, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Robert L. Heuser, Chief, Natality, Marriage, and Divorce

Statistics Branch

Joseph D. Farrell, Chief, Systems and Programming Branch

Robert Armstrong, Acting Chief, Statistical Resources

Branch
Contents

Introduction............................................................................................. 1

Highlights............................................................................................ 1

Sources and methods................................................................................... 2

Birth rate for unmarried women ............................................................................ 3

Trends............................................................................................... 3

First birth rate ........................................................................................ 5

Educational attainment ................................................................................. 6

State ................................................................................................ 9

Number and proportion of births to unmarried women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Race and Hispanic origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Educational attainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Factors affecting the incidence of nonmarital childbearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Population at risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Sexual activity and contraceptive use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pregnancy and abortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Premarital conceptions ending in marital births. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Other factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Characteristics of unmarried mothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Live-birth order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Educational attainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Health aspects of childbearing by unmarried women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Prenatal care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Tobacco use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Maternal weight gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Birthweight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

List of detailed tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Appendix

Technical notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Births by marital status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Population denominators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Rates by Hispanic origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Rates by educational attainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Computation of rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Standardization for age and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Kessner Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

iii
Text figures

1. Birth rate for unmarried women: United States, 1940–92 ................................................... 3

2. Birth rate for unmarried women by age: United States, 1940–92 ............................................. 3

3. Birth rate for unmarried women by race: United States, 1970–92............................................. 4

4. Birth rate for unmarried teenagers by race: United States, 1980–92 ........................................... 4

5. Birth rate for unmarried women aged 20–34 years by race: United States, 1980–92.............................. 5

6. Number of births to unmarried women: United States, 1940–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Text tables

A. Estimated birth rate for unmarried women by Hispanic origin and age of mother: United States, 1990–92 ........... 5

B. Number and percent distribution of live births to unmarried women by live-birth order and first-birth rate for births to

unmarried women, according to age and race of mother: United States, 1992 ................................... 6

C. Estimated birth rate for unmarried women by educational attainment, age, race, and Hispanic origin of mother:

United States, 1992.................................................................................. 7

D. Percent of births to mothers who completed less than 12 years of school by age, marital status, and Hispanic origin of

mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992........................... 8

E. Number and percent of births to unmarried women by race and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

F. Percent of births to unmarried mothers by age, education, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother

for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

G. Number and percent of women who are unmarried by age and race: United States, selected years, 1960–92 . . . . . . . . 15

H. Number and percent distribution of births to unmarried mothers by age: United States, selected years, 1940–92. . . . . . 17

J. Number of births and percent distribution by adequacy of prenatal care, according to marital status and race of

mother: United States, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

K. Percent of births to mothers with adequate prenatal care by education, age, race, and marital status of mother:

United States, 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

L. Percent of mothers who smoked during pregnancy by education, age, marital status, and race of mother: Total of 46

reporting States and the District of Columbia, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

M. Percent of births to mothers gaining less than 16 pounds during pregnancy by education, age, marital status, and

race of mother: Total of 49 reporting States and the District of Columbia, 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

N. Percent low birthweight by age, marital status, and race of mother: United States, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

O. Percent low birthweight by age, smoking status, marital status, and race of mother: Total of 46 reporting States

and the District of Columbia, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

P. Percent low birthweight by age, education, marital status, and race of mother: United States, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

iv
Births to Unmarried

Mothers: United States,

1980–92

by Stephanie J. Ventura, A.M., Division of Vital

Statistics

Introduction

The continued increase in all measures of childbearing by

unmarried women, especially since 1980, has resulted in

considerable public concern and interest in assessing the

factors associated with the trend, the consequences of nonmarital childbearing, and the characteristics of unmarried mothers.

Birth rates for unmarried women of all ages—white, black,

and Hispanic—are high and rising. Despite the increase in the

demographic diversity of unmarried mothers, these women

and their babies continue to be at disproportionate risk. They

are still overwhelmingly young, poorly educated, low income,

and likely to experience (along with their children) the longrange consequences, in terms of education and income, of

their early childbearing as single parents. The trend in nonmarital childbearing and some of the factors associated with it

are described and analyzed in this report.

The primary measure used to describe and explain trends

and variations in the incidence of nonmarital childbearing is

the birth rate for unmarried mothers, defined as the number of

nonmarital births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44

years. This rate measures the ‘‘risk’’ that an unmarried woman

will give birth in a given year. Rates are presented by age,

race, Hispanic origin, and educational attainment of the mother.

Differences by race and Hispanic origin primarily reflect

differences in education, income, access to health care, sexual

activity, and contraceptive use (1–6). Variations in the incidence of nonmarital childbearing according to educational

attainment of mother are helpful in accounting for some of the

overall differences in childbearing by unmarried women by

race and Hispanic origin. Variations in sexual activity, contraceptive use, and the resolution of premarital pregnancies are

also discussed in this report (6–8).

The focus of the report is the trend in nonmarital childbearing for the period 1980–92. However, to put the more

recent period into context, trends for the period 1940–80 are

included in some tables and in the text. National birth statistics

for unmarried women are available annually beginning with

1940.

Highlights

The risk that an unmarried woman will have a baby

increased substantially between 1980 and 1991 and then was

unchanged in 1992. Measured by the birth rate, this risk

increased from 29.4 per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44

years in 1980 to 45.2 in 1991, a 54-percent rise. Other

measures of nonmarital childbearing have also risen sharply

since 1980. The number of births rose 84 percent, from

665,747 in 1980 to 1,224,876 in 1992. Because these increases

occurred during a period of relatively stable fertility for all

women and declining fertility among married women, the

proportion of all births to unmarried women rose from 18.4 percent in 1980 to 30.1 percent in 1992.

Rates for unmarried women by age have risen sharply for

women in all age groups, but particularly among women in the

20 and older age groups. Rates are still highest for women

aged 18–19 years and 20–24 years. As a consequence of the

steep rise in rates for older women, teenagers accounted for

only 30 percent of all births to unmarried women in 1992,

compared with the 40–50 percent level observed until the

early 1980’s. Despite this decline, unmarried mothers are still

much more likely to be teenagers than are married mothers;

only 5 percent of married mothers were under age 20 in 1992.

Many age-specific rates for white unmarried women

doubled from 1980 to 1992, while rates for black women in

the same age groups rose much less. Still, the overall rate in

1992 for black unmarried women, 86.5 per 1,000, was 2.5

times the rate for white unmarried women, 35.2. Birth rates for

unmarried Hispanic women, available only for 1990–92, are

higher than rates for white or black women; the overall rate

was 95.3 in 1992. This generally reflects the fact that nonmarital childbearing among Hispanic women is high for women in

all age groups.

Unmarried mothers tend to be disproportionately poorly

educated. Some of this disparity is linked to their generally

younger age profile. Even when births to mothers aged 20 and

older are examined separately, at least one-third of unmarried

mothers were reported to have less than a high school

education compared with 13 percent of married mothers.

Health factors considered in this report also show the

generally less favorable status of unmarried mothers and their

babies. Unmarried mothers are less apt to receive adequate

prenatal care, more likely to smoke during pregnancy, and less

likely to gain adequate weight during pregnancy. As a consequence of these and other factors, babies born to unmarried

NOTE: This report was prepared in the Division of Vital Statistics. The author gratefully

acknowledges the assistance of Robert L. Heuser, Chief of the Natality, Marriage, and

Divorce Statistics Branch (NMDSB) and Selma Taffel, formerly with the NMDSB, who

reviewed the report and provided helpful comments; Thomas D. Dunn and Katerina

Yannicos of the Statistical Resources Branch; and T. J. Mathews and Donna L. Wright ,

of the NMDSB, who provided content review. This report was edited by Klaudia Cox and

typeset by Jacqueline M. Davis of the Publications Branch, Division of Data Services.

1
women are at elevated risk of low birthweight. This risk

persists even when data are classified by maternal age, educational attainment, adequacy of prenatal care, smoking status,

and weight gain.

Sources and methods

The source of data for this report is the certificate of live

birth filed for each child born in the United States. Data since

1980 on mother’s marital status have been derived in two

ways. In the majority of States, there is a direct question on

the birth certificate asking, ‘‘Is mother married?’’ According to

the Hospitals’ and Physicians’ Handbook on Birth and Fetal

Death Reporting, this question should be answered ‘‘yes’’ if

the mother was married at the time of birth, at the time of

conception, or at any intervening time (9). In 1989–92, 44

States and the District of Columbia included this direct

question on their birth certificates. Data on mother’s marital

status in the remaining States (California, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Texas in 1992) are inferred from

a comparison of the child’s and parents’ surnames. A basic set

of rules for inferring the mother’s marital status was developed and modified to meet the individual requirements of

some States. For example, in some States the absence of any

information on the father is sufficient indication that the birth

is to an unmarried mother. Differences in the application of the

procedures are presented in the coding manual for births and

related special rules for States (10,11).

There has been continuing concern that the inferential

method may overstate the incidence of nonmarital childbearing because it incorporates data based on a comparison of

surnames. In cases where women have retained their maiden

names, or where their names are hyphenated combinations of

their name and their husband’s, births to these women might

be erroneously classified as nonmarital. Therefore, the inferred

data are continuously evaluated to the extent that resources

permit. Information on an evaluation of the procedure is

presented in the Technical notes (12).

Prior to 1980, data on births to unmarried women were

based on the information reported in States with the direct

question on marital status. These States were grouped into the

nine census geographic divisions and the proportions of

nonmarital births by race in each division were applied to the

births in the nonreporting States in the respective division.

National estimates of births to unmarried women were derived

by summing the data by geographic division for each race

group. The reliability of these estimates was influenced by the

proportion of all births to residents of the reporting States in

each geographic division. In some divisions, this proportion

was small, particularly the Middle Atlantic, West South Central, and Pacific divisions. Under the pre-1980 procedures,

data were not available for the individual nonreporting States.

A recent evaluation of the accuracy of the marital status

item was conducted in connection with the 1988 Maternal and

Infant Health Survey. Entries on the birth certificate were

compared with entries on the mother’s questionnaire (13).

That study found an overall agreement on marital status of

94 percent for black mothers and 96 percent for white mothers. It is possible that the accuracy has varied over time as

public attitudes on nonmarital childbearing have changed. It is

also likely that variation in accuracy exists among different

segments of the population.

In this report, the terms ‘‘births to unmarried women,’’

‘‘nonmarital childbearing,’’ and ‘‘childbearing by unmarried

women’’ are used interchangeably. In addition, in discussions

of data by race, the terms ‘‘white births’’ and ‘‘births to white

mothers’’ or ‘‘black births’’ and ‘‘births to black mothers’’ are

used interchangeably. Birth data formerly reported by race of

child have been retabulated by race of mother for all years

beginning in 1980. This change is described in detail in the

Technical notes. Tables showing trend data for years prior to

1980 show 1980 data tabulated by race of mother and race of

child. Data for 1980 are shown for both the geographically

based estimates of nonmarital births and the inferential data,

so that the effect of these changes in methods can be seen.

2
Birth rate for unmarried

women

Trends

The birth rate for unmarried women, defined as the

number of births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried

women aged 15–44 years, is the optimum measure to use in

interpreting changes in the statistical ‘‘risk’’ that unmarried

women of childbearing age will give birth in a given year.

There have been several distinct periods in this rate in the

United States (table 1 and figure 1). From 1940 to 1957, the

rate nearly tripled, from 7.1 to 21.0 per 1,000. Over the next

13 years, the rate generally increased, slowly at first and then

more rapidly from 1966 to 1970. However, from 1970 to 1976

the rate declined nearly every year, about 8 percent overall.

Beginning in 1976, the rate increased without interruption

until 1991. The pace of increase was especially rapid from

1985 to 1990 (5–8 percent annually). In 1991, the rate increased

3 percent to 45.2 per 1,000 where it remained in 1992 as well.

Age

Just as trends in the overall birth rate for unmarried

women have had several distinct phases, so have the trends in

rates by age (table 1 and figure 2). Rates for teenage women

began at about the same point as the rate for all women, 7.4

per 1,000 aged 15–19 in 1940. The teen rate approximately

doubled from 1940 to 1957, a smaller increase than the overall

rate, which tripled. From 1957 to 1964, the rate for unmarried

teens changed relatively little, increasing in some years and

declining in others, but there was essentially no net change.

Over the next 8 years, however, the rate rose sharply, by

43 percent, before stabilizing again briefly from 1973 to 1976.

The most recent phase of rapid annual increases began in 1978

and continued through 1991. During these 13 years, the

nonmarital birth rate for teens jumped 80 percent, to 44.8 per

1,000. The rate declined slightly in 1992 to 44.6.

Trends in rates for teenage subgroups can be examined

beginning in 1966, when populations by marital status for ages

15–17 and 18–19 first became available. Between 1966 and

1980, the rates for these age groups increased steadily at about

the same pace, by 57 percent for young teens 15–17 years and

by 52 percent for older teens aged 18–19 (table 1). Since 1980

the rates have continued to rise rapidly, but the rate for older

teens has risen more sharply, by 73 percent, from 39.0 in 1980

to 67.3 in 1992. The rate for young teens rose 50 percent from

20.6 in 1980 to 30.9 in 1991, before declining slightly in 1992.

Unlike rates for teenaged unmarried women, which have

generally increased without interruption since 1940, trends in

birth rates for unmarried women aged 20 and older differ

somewhat in that the rates rose sharply from 1940 to the early

1960’s and then declined until the mid 1970’s. Beginning in

the late 1970’s, the rates for women aged 20 and older have

risen substantially, at least doubling during the 15-year period

1977–92.

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

1

10

100

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women

Figure 1. Birth rate for unmarried women 15–44 years of age:

United States, 1940–92

15 19 20 24 25 29

30 34 35 39

years years years

years years

Age

1

10

100

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Figure 2. Birth rate for unmarried women by age: United States,

1940–92

3
Although the greatest focus of attention in nonmarital

childbearing has typically been on teenagers, it is apparent that

the rates for women in their twenties have consistently been

higher than rates for teens. In fact, from 1950 to 1965

nonmarital birth rates for women in their twenties were 2–3

times the rates for teens 15–19 years. The disparity by age has

declined considerably since 1965, but rates have continued to

be highest for women aged 18–19 and 20–24 years, followed

closely by women aged 25–29 years. In 1992, the rates were

67.3 for 18–19-year-olds and 68.5 for 20–24-year-olds. The

rate for women aged 25–29 was 56.5, and for women aged

30–34, it was 37.9, while the rate for young teens 15–17 years

was 30.4.

Race

Birth rates for unmarried women by race have been

available since 1969 when birth statistics by marital status for

the black population first became available. Birth data by race

for 1969–79 are tabulated by race of child; beginning with the

1980 data year, tabulations are by race of mother. Details of

the current and former procedures in tabulating by race are

described in the Technical notes. The effects of change in

tabulation by race as well as the change in the method for

compiling national data on nonmarital births can be seen by

reviewing the rates for 1980, which are shown by race of

mother and by race of child.

Birth rates for unmarried black women have consistently

been higher than for unmarried white women (table 1 and

figure 3). However, the disparity by race has declined sharply

for two reasons. First, in the 1970’s, rates for white women

rose, while rates for black women generally fell. Thus, while

the rate for black women was 7 times the white rate in 1970,

by 1980 the differential was 4. Second, since 1980 rates have

risen for white and black women, but the increase was

substantially greater for white than for black women, 94 percent compared with 7 percent. Thus, by 1992 the rate for black

women was 2.5 times the rate for white women.

The patterns within each age group by race have also

differed. Rates for white teens rose fairly steadily during the

1970’s whereas rates for black teens increased early in the

decade and then declined (table 1). By 1980, the rates for

black teens were lower than they were in 1970. Since 1980,

rates for both white and black teens have increased. The rate

for white teens doubled, while the rate for black teens rose

20 percent. The changes in rates for teen subgroups by race

were very similar to those for all teens aged 15–19, but the

increases were larger for older teens (figure 4).

Rates for white women in their twenties declined from

about 1970 until the mid 1970’s, when the rates began to rise

again. From 1980 to 1992, the rates doubled. The pattern of

decline and increase was generally observed for black women

in their twenties except that the increases since 1980 were

much smaller for black women (table 1 and figure 5). The rate

for black women aged 20–24 rose 28 percent; the rate for

women aged 25–29 rose 29 percent between 1980 and 1990

before falling 7 percent by 1992. Whereas nonmarital birth

rates by age for black women were 2.7 to 5.7 times the rates

for white women in 1980, the differentials were reduced to

1.6–3.7 by 1992.

Rates for women in other racial groups, including American Indian and Asian or Pacific Islander women, cannot be

computed because populations by marital status are not available. However, the incidence is believed to be low in most

groups, based on data from other measures that are discussed

in a later section and other studies (14).

Hispanic origin

Now that birth and population data by marital status for

women of Hispanic origin have been available for a few years,

estimated birth rates for unmarried women by Hispanic origin

have been computed for 1990–92 and are shown in table A.

Unfortunately, rates for non-Hispanic women by race cannot

be computed because populations by marital status are not

available for those subgroups. In this report, rates for Hispanic

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990

10

100

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

Black

White

Figure 3. Birth rate for unmarried women by race: United States,

1970–92

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992

10

100

Births per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

Black, 15 17 years Black, 18 19 years

White, 15 17 years White, 18 19 years

Figure 4. Birth rate for unmarried teenagers by race: United

States, 1980–92

4
women are compared with rates for all white and black

women. About 11 percent of white women in the childbearing

ages are Hispanic (15).

The rate for Hispanic women was 95.3 per 1,000 in 1992,

more than twice the rate for white women and about 10 percent higher than the rate for black women (tables A and 1).

The high rate for Hispanic women reflects principally the

elevated birth rates for Hispanic women in nearly all age

groups compared with white and black women, especially the

high rates for women aged 25 and older. Nonmarital childbearing among Hispanic women, particularly Puerto Rican women,

is affected also by the relatively high levels of consensual or

common-law marriages (16). It is not possible to identify the

women who are in such relationships from data on the birth

certificate.

First-birth rate

The proportion of unmarried women who became mothers for the first time can be determined by relating the number

of first births to unmarried women to the population of

unmarried women. Trends in these rates by age and race for

1980–92 are shown in table 2 and rates for 1992 in table B.

The first birth rate for unmarried women was 21.6 per

1,000 in 1992, 30 percent higher than the rate in 1980. This

rate had changed little between 1980 and 1984, ranging from

16.2 to 16.6. From 1984 to 1991, however, the rate rose

32 percent or about 5 percent per year, to 21.7, before declining slightly in 1992. The overall nonmarital birth rate rose

46 percent between 1984 and 1991. Thus, it is apparent that

birth rates for women having their second or subsequent child

increased much more than for those having their first child.

The pattern of first birth rates by age is generally similar

to that for the overall rates by age. The highest first birth rate

was observed for women aged 18–19 years. However, the first

birth rate declines rapidly with advancing age for women aged

25 years and older, reflecting the greatly increased likelihood

that older unmarried women are having a second or higher

order birth rather than a first birth.

It is not possible to determine from information on the

birth certificate whether nonmarital births of second or higher

order have occurred after previous nonmarital births or if they

are the mothers’ first nonmarital birth (that is, occurring after

she had given birth during a previous marriage). Given the

sharp increases in divorce in recent years, it is likely that some

portion of the second and higher order nonmarital births were

the first nonmarital births for the mothers, particularly for

older women.

The first birth rate for unmarried black women in 1992

was 34.9 per 1,000, about 1.9 times the rate of 18.4 for

unmarried white women. The racial differential in this rate

declined by about half during the 1980’s: In 1980, the rate for

unmarried black women was 40.1, 3.5 times the rate for

unmarried white women, 11.4.

Trends in the rates by race have differed considerably. The

rate for white women rose steadily throughout the 12-year

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992

14

140

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

White, 20 24 White, 25 29 White, 30 34

Black, 20 24 Black, 25 29 Black, 30 34

years years years

years years years

Figure 5. Birth rate for unmarried women aged 20–34 years by

race: United States, 1980–92

Table A. Estimated birth rate for unmarried women by Hispanic origin and age of mother: United States, 1990–92

[Rates per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group. For method of estimation, see Technical notes]

Year and origin

Age of mother

15–44

years1

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Hispanic

1990 ..................... 89.6 65.9 45.9 98.9 129.8 131.7 88.1 50.8 13.7

1991 ..................... 93.7 72.4 50.5 109.6 135.4 137.5 89.1 47.7 14.2

1992 ..................... 95.3 72.9 51.0 110.5 142.2 138.3 91.8 48.1 14.5

Non-Hispanic3

1990 ..................... 39.2 39.7 27.5 56.5 58.4 48.7 32.6 14.6 2.9

1991 ..................... 39.9 41.3 28.3 60.4 60.6 48.3 32.8 15.2 3.0

1992 ..................... 39.7 40.8 27.6 61.7 60.5 47.8 32.4 16.0 3.3

1Computed by relating all births to unmarried mothers, regardless of age of mother, to unmarried women aged 15–44 years.

2Computed by relating births to unmarried mothers aged 40 years and over to unmarried women aged 40–44 years.

3Includes births with origin of mother not stated. See Technical notes. 5
period, by 61 percent overall. In contrast, the rate for black

women initially declined from 1980 to 1984, then rose briefly

before falling again, beginning in 1989. The rate in 1992 was

13 percent below the 1980 rate.

The sharp rise in nonmarital birth rates among white

unmarried women reflects sharp increases in first-time childbearing by these women and even greater increases in rates for

second and subsequent births (regardless of whether the

mother was previously married). For black unmarried women,

the pattern is quite different. Rates for first births fell during

the 1980’s, but the rates for second and higher order births

increased 26 percent.

Educational attainment

Birth rates for unmarried women by educational attainment, age, race, and Hispanic origin of mother have been

estimated for 1992 and are shown in table C; rates by education, age, and race for 1970 and 1985 have been published

(17,18). Such rates can be useful in comparing levels of

nonmarital childbearing by socioeconomic status because

educational attainment is considered to be the most reliable

measure of socioeconomic differences in fertility. Many studies have demonstrated differences by mother’s educational

attainment in such measures as number of children ever born,

the timing and spacing of births, and contraceptive use (6,

19,20).

There are considerable differences in the educational

attainment of Hispanic women and non-Hispanic white women.

For example, 54 percent of Hispanic women who gave birth in

1992 had not completed high school compared with 15 percent

of non-Hispanic white women (table D). Much of this difference is related to the high proportions of Hispanic women

born in countries where universal educational systems are not

in place. The rates in table C reflect these differences only

partially, however, because the rates for white women include

births to Hispanic and non-Hispanic women.

Birth rates for unmarried women according to educational

attainment were consistently highest for women with a grade

school education (82 per 1,000), followed in order by high

school graduates (70 per 1,000), and women who did not

complete high school (59 per 1,000). Rates for women with

Table B. Number and percent distribution of live births to unmarried women by live-birth order and first birth rate for births to unmarried

women, according to age and race of mother: United States, 1992

Race and age of mother

All

births1 First

2nd and

higher

All

births First

2nd and

higher

First birth

rate2

Number Percent distribution3

All races4 .................. 1,224,876 580,513 637,706 100.0 47.7 52.3 21.6

Under 15 years .............. 11,161 10,722 371 100.0 96.7 3.3 - - -

15–19 years ................ 353,878 267,026 85,303 100.0 75.8 24.2 33.8

15–17 years .............. 148,583 126,096 21,810 100.0 85.3 14.7 25.9

18–19 years .............. 205,295 140,930 63,493 100.0 68.9 31.1 46.4

20–24 years ................ 435,727 195,110 238,377 100.0 45.0 55.0 30.8

25–29 years ................ 233,467 65,446 166,503 100.0 28.2 71.8 15.9

30–34 years ................ 127,982 29,097 98,050 100.0 22.9 77.1 8.7

35–39 years ................ 52,447 10,966 41,113 100.0 21.1 78.9 4.0

40–44 years ................ 10,214 2,146 7,989 100.0 21.2 78.8 0.9

White..................... 721,986 376,188 342,048 100.0 52.4 47.6 18.4

Under 15 years .............. 4,553 4,405 125 100.0 97.2 2.8 - - -

15–19 years ................ 206,830 168,313 37,634 100.0 81.7 18.3 27.0

15–17 years .............. 83,848 74,997 8,471 100.0 89.9 10.1 19.4

18–19 years .............. 122,982 93,316 29,163 100.0 76.2 23.8 39.2

20–24 years ................ 258,268 130,983 126,051 100.0 51.0 49.0 26.9

25–29 years ................ 137,639 43,215 93,564 100.0 31.6 68.4 14.3

30–34 years ................ 75,696 19,702 55,531 100.0 26.2 73.8 8.3

35–39 years ................ 32,218 7,945 24,040 100.0 24.8 75.2 4.0

40–44 years ................ 6,782 1,625 5,103 100.0 24.2 75.8 0.9

Black .................... 458,969 184,004 272,302 100.0 40.3 59.7 34.9

Under 15 years .............. 6,296 6,021 231 100.0 96.3 3.7 - - -

15–19 years ................ 135,994 90,210 45,170 100.0 66.6 33.4 70.5

15–17 years .............. 60,202 47,198 12,732 100.0 78.8 21.2 61.5

18–19 years .............. 75,792 43,012 32,438 100.0 57.0 43.0 84.2

20–24 years ................ 162,561 57,358 104,277 100.0 35.5 64.5 51.2

25–29 years ................ 86,853 19,590 66,665 100.0 22.7 77.3 22.3

30–34 years ................ 46,860 7,995 38,520 100.0 17.2 82.8 9.9

35–39 years ................ 17,608 2,446 15,045 100.0 14.0 86.0 3.6

40–44 years ................ 2,797 384 2,394 100.0 13.8 86.2 0.7

1Includes live-birth order not stated.

2First births per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group.

3Based only on records for which live-birth order is stated.

4Includes races other than white and black.

6
some college and college graduates were sharply lower, 21

and 11 per 1,000, respectively.

This pattern was observed for women of all races combined and for white and Hispanic women. Rates for black

women were highest for high school graduates (112 per 1,000)

followed by women who did not complete high school (101

per 1,000) and women with a grade school education (76 per

1,000). Again, rates for black women with some college were

lower.

Rates by education and age vary in a consistent pattern.

Rates for women with less than a high school education were

highest for ages 18–24 years. Rates for women with some

college were highest for ages 25–29 years, while rates for

college graduates were highest for women aged 30–34 years.

The highest rates were for grade-school-educated women

aged 18–24 years (259 per 1,000) and 25–29 years (211 per

1,000). This means that one-fifth to one-quarter of unmarried

women in these age-education groups had a baby in 1992.

Rates for white and black women were most similar for those

with a grade school education, 86 and 76 per 1,000, respectively. Rates by age within that group tended to be much

higher for white than for black women. Hispanic women

constitute a disproportionate share of white women in this

educational attainment category, 39 percent overall and

64–76 percent in age groups 18–29 years, compared with

5–12 percent of women with a high school education or more.

Among women with a grade school education, the relatively

high rates for Hispanic women were, therefore, an important

factor in the high rates for white women.

Rates for black women with 9–11 years of schooling or

high school graduates were about twice the rates of their white

counterparts. The differential in rates for black and white

Table C. Estimated birth rate for unmarried women by educational attainment, age, race, and Hispanic origin of mother: United States,

1992

[Rates are live births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group; see Technical notes]

Race, Hispanic origin,

and age of mother Total

Years of school completed

0–8

years

9–11

years

12

years

13–15

years

16 years

or more

All races1

15–44 years2 ................ 45.2 82.3 59.2 70.2 21.2 10.8

15–17 years .............. 30.4 28.2 28.4 244.1 6.3 . . .

18–24 years .............. 68.1 259.1 127.2 111.9 19.8 11.0

25–29 years .............. 56.5 210.8 109.4 77.1 40.2 11.1

30–34 years .............. 37.9 82.8 71.7 46.7 26.7 15.5

35–39 years .............. 18.8 58.4 28.8 20.9 13.6 11.6

40–44 years3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 15.1 6.3 4.0 2.6 3.3

White

15–44 years2 ................ 35.2 85.5 47.9 55.8 14.4 7.9

15–17 years .............. 21.6 24.2 19.4 168.8 5.1 . . .

18–24 years .............. 52.3 256.9 116.8 85.3 13.2 6.9

25–29 years .............. 45.4 256.5 122.6 61.8 28.1 7.3

30–34 years .............. 31.5 102.1 62.7 39.5 19.4 12.4

35–39 years .............. 16.2 59.9 32.2 17.6 10.0 10.1

40–44 years3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 17.0 5.8 3.3 2.0 3.0

Black

15–44 years2 ................ 86.5 76.1 101.0 111.9 54.7 31.6

15–17 years .............. 78.0 46.5 79.9 671.7 15.3 . . .

18–24 years .............. 145.4 228.0 168.3 200.2 66.6 76.7

25–29 years .............. 98.2 78.8 97.5 123.1 85.0 46.2

30–34 years .............. 57.7 32.3 88.2 64.8 49.2 32.2

35–39 years .............. 25.8 47.3 24.4 28.2 27.0 16.8

40–44 years3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 9.2 6.3 5.8 4.4 5.0

Hispanic4

15–44 years2 ................ 95.3 169.1 100.7 111.0 33.2 29.0

15–17 years .............. 51.0 66.0 44.2 419.5 12.2 . . .

18–24 years .............. 130.9 306.4 196.9 140.3 28.6 28.5

25–29 years .............. 138.3 302.3 185.6 131.4 59.3 34.4

30–34 years .............. 91.8 153.9 99.7 105.6 40.0 38.7

35–39 years .............. 48.1 87.4 61.4 37.6 25.0 20.0

40–44 years3 .............. 14.5 33.8 12.5 10.0 6.1 8.9

1Includes race other than white and black.

2Rates computed by relating total births, regardless of age of mother, to unmarried women aged 15–44 years in specified group.

3Rates computed by relating births to unmarried mothers aged 40 years and over to unmarried women aged 40–44 years in specified group.

4Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. For method of estimation, see Technical notes.

7
women with one or more years of college was much greater;

rates for black women were nearly four times the rates for

white women. Rates for Hispanic women tended to be higher

than rates for white or black women with a grade school

education. Among high school graduates and better-educated

women, rates for Hispanic women were usually between the

rates for white and black women. These patterns were observed

among women in each age group.

Variations in nonmarital childbearing among white, black,

and Hispanic women persist even when rates by maternal

education are compared. Other factors are apparently involved

in the persistent gap in childbearing by unmarried women in

these groups. Some of these factors may include differences in

sexual activity, especially among teenagers; contraceptive use;

and the extent to which premarital pregnancies are resolved by

marriage prior to the birth of the child or by abortion. These

factors are discussed later in this report.

One question that arises in comparing rates by race and

Hispanic origin is the extent to which differences in the

distribution of black, white, and Hispanic women by age and

educational attainment would affect the observed differences

in rates by race and Hispanic origin. Standardized rates

indicate actual differences among groups in the rates or ‘‘risk’’

of nonmarital childbearing after differences by age and educational attainment have been taken into account. Standardized

rates have been computed, using as the standard the distribution of all unmarried women, regardless of race or Hispanic

origin, by age and education according to the 1992 Current

Population Survey (21). (See appendix.)

The unadjusted and adjusted rates are:

Race/Hispanic origin Unadjusted Adjusted

White..................... 35.2 36.9

Black ..................... 86.5 81.3

Hispanic ................... 95.3 70.3

Standardization had little effect on the black/white differential. The unadjusted rate for black women was 2.5 times the

unadjusted rate for white women. Adjusted, the rate for black

women was 2.2 times the rate for white women. The adjusted

rate for white women was 5 percent higher than the unadjusted

rate, while the adjusted rate for black women was 6 percent

lower than the unadjusted rate. The standard population used

to compute the adjusted rates is younger and of lower educational attainment than the white female population. Therefore

the adjusted white rate is higher, because nonmarital birth

rates are higher for young women. The pattern is reversed for

black women. The standard population has an older age

pattern than that of black women. Consequently, the adjusted

rate for black women is lower than the unadjusted rate.

There was a considerable reduction in the difference

between Hispanic and white women. Unadjusted, the rate for

Hispanic women was 2.7 times the rate for white women;

adjusted, the differential was 1.9. The disproportionate share

of Hispanic women who have 0–8 or 9–11 years of schooling

affects the differential in rates. Rates were especially high for

Hispanic women in these educational attainment groups,

regardless of age. Thus, standardizing for differences in the

population composition by age and education resulted in a

Table D. Percent of births to mothers who completed less than 12 years of school by age, marital status, and Hispanic origin of mother

and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992

Age and marital status of mother

All

births1,2 Hispanic

Non-Hispanic

Total2 White Black

All ages3 .................. 23.6 54.1 17.9 14.5 29.8

Married .................. 15.1 47.4 10.0 9.4 11.5

Unmarried ................ 43.3 64.5 37.8 37.1 38.3

15–17 years ................ 91.6 93.5 91.0 90.1 92.1

Married .................. 90.4 93.3 89.0 89.0 88.6

Unmarried ................ 91.9 93.6 91.4 90.6 92.2

18 years................... 58.3 72.6 54.5 54.5 54.4

Married .................. 59.5 73.9 54.2 55.0 46.3

Unmarried ................ 57.7 71.8 54.6 54.1 55.0

19 years................... 42.5 63.2 37.4 37.5 36.7

Married .................. 41.8 62.8 35.5 36.2 27.7

Unmarried ................ 43.0 63.6 38.5 38.8 37.8

20–24 years ................ 28.0 53.9 21.9 20.7 24.1

Married .................. 23.1 50.0 17.0 16.9 13.8

Unmarried ................ 35.2 59.2 29.2 30.4 27.5

25 years and over............. 12.8 46.1 7.8 5.9 15.2

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 41.1 5.3 4.5 7.9

Unmarried ................ 29.9 58.3 21.5 20.0 22.3

1Includes origin not stated.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes births to mothers under 15 years of age.

NOTE: Figures by Hispanic origin exclude data for New Hampshire, which did not require the reporting of Hispanic origin on the birth certificate. Only 0.25 percent of all nonmarital births in 1992

were to New Hampshire residents.

8
lower rate for Hispanic women and, therefore, a smaller

difference between rates for Hispanic and white women.

However, the difference in standardized birth rates for Hispanic and white women must be considered an approximation

because (as noted above) rates and population distributions for

white women by educational attainment include Hispanic

women.

To summarize the standardization procedure, prior to

standardizing the rates, the rates for black and Hispanic

unmarried women were 2.5–2.7 times the rate for white

women. After standardizing the rates to adjust for compositional differences in the white, black, and Hispanic populations, the rates for black and Hispanic women were each about

twice the rate for white women. Thus, some of the original

differences in rates reflects the differences in the composition

of the populations by age and educational attainment. However, most of the differences in rates still remains after taking

these compositional differences into account. The remaining

difference reflects the fact that age-education-specific birth

rates for unmarried black and Hispanic women are higher than

the respective rates for white women.

State

It is possible to compute reliable birth rates for unmarried

women by State only in census years when the necessary

population data are available. Rates by age and race of mother

have been published for 1990 as well as for the 1969–71

census period and for 1980 (22–24). The 1990 rates are

included in this report for reference in table 3.

Birth rates for unmarried women vary widely by State.

Much of the differential is associated with the wide variation

among States in characteristics that are generally associated

with variations in nonmarital childbearing. These include

differences among States in population composition by age,

race, and Hispanic origin as well as by educational attainment.

9
Number and proportion of

births to unmarried women

There are two other important summary measures frequently used to describe trends and patterns of births to

unmarried women. One is the number of nonmarital births and

the other is the proportion of all births to unmarried women.

This proportion is often called the ‘‘ratio.’’ These measures are

of importance in evaluating the absolute level of nonmarital

births and the related needs for social, financial, and health

services for the mothers and their babies. Although it is

preferable to use the birth rate in interpreting patterns of

nonmarital childbearing, the number and proportion are especially useful in monitoring trends in nonmarital births in

population groups at the State and local level, when birth rates

often cannot be computed. It is important to keep in mind,

however, that although the numerator of the proportion or ratio

is affected by the number of unmarried women and their birth

rate, the denominator of the proportion (total births) is largely

influenced by the factors that affect marital fertility. These

include changes in the timing of marriage, the spacing of

children, and completed family size. In effect, changes in the

proportion may occur even when there is no change in the

number of unmarried women or their birth rate.

As indicated in figure 6 and table 4, there has been a

substantial growth in the number of births to unmarried

women since 1940 when an estimated 89,500 babies were

born to unmarried women. This number more than doubled by

1955. The number doubled again to 398,700 in 1970, and rose

80 percent to 715,227 in 1982. By 1992, the number of

nonmarital births rose another 71 percent, to 1,224,876, nearly

14 times as many as in 1940.

The proportion of births to unmarried women rose substantially, from 3.8 percent in 1940 to 30.1 percent in 1992, an

eight-fold increase (table 5). The proportion rose relatively

slowly from 1940 to 1960, by about 40 percent overall, with

most of the increase occurring from 1950 to 1960. Births to

unmarried women increased 58 percent in that decade compared with only a 16-percent increase among married women.

In the next decade, the proportion of births to unmarried

women doubled, from 5.3 percent to 10.7 percent. This increase

was especially rapid because birth rates for married women

began to decline during the 1960’s while rates for unmarried

women were rising. The number of births to married women

fell 17 percent while nonmarital births rose 78 percent. The

proportion of nonmarital births has risen steadily since 1970,

nearly tripling over this time period, to 30.1 percent in 1992.

The most recent increase reflects continued declines in marital

fertility occurring simultaneously with sizeable increases in

nonmarital fertility.

Age

The numbers of births to unmarried women have increased

dramatically for mothers in all age groups in recent years. The

number of births to unmarried teens in 1992 was 34 percent

higher than in 1980. There was a greater relative increase in

the number of births to older than to younger teens. The

number of births to unmarried women aged 18–19 years

increased 46 percent between 1980 and 1992, while among

teens 15–17 years, the number increased 22 percent. The

greater increase among older teens is due entirely to the

sharper overall rise in the nonmarital birth rate.

The numbers of births to unmarried women in their

twenties in 1992 were 84–134 percent higher than in 1980.

Increases in births to these women reflect both the increasing

birth rates and the substantial rise in the number of unmarried

women.

Nonmarital births to women aged 30 years and older have

also increased considerably. The greatest increase for this age

group began to occur in 1980, with the 1992 totals averaging

three to four times the numbers reported in 1980. These

increases also reflect both rising birth rates and sharp increases

in the number of unmarried women.

The proportions of births to unmarried mothers by age

have increased virtually without interruption since 1940. As

noted above, the increases in recent years reflect three factors:

rising nonmarital birth rates, sharp increases in the number of

unmarried women in each age group, and declining or stable

birth rates for married women. Among births to women aged

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

80

800

Number of births in thousands

Figure 6. Number of births to unmarried women: United States,

1940–92

10
20 years and older, the proportion to unmarried women in

1992 ranged from 14 percent for births to mothers aged 30–34

years to 41 percent for births to mothers aged 20–24 years.

Among teens, the nonmarital proportion ranged from 91 percent for births to mothers under age 15 years to 61 percent for

births to 19-year-old mothers. Because the levels of nonmarital births are so high among teens, trends for this age group

tend to receive the most attention.

Race and Hispanic origin

In 1969, 5 percent of white births compared with 35 percent of black births were nonmarital. By 1992, the proportions

rose to 23 percent for white births and 68 percent for black

births (table 5). Data for other racial/ethnic origin groups

indicate wide variation in nonmarital childbearing (table E). In

1992, the proportions ranged from a low of 6 percent for

Chinese mothers and 10 percent for Japanese mothers to

44–46 percent for Hawaiian and Central and South American

mothers and 58 percent for Puerto Rican mothers.

Educational attainment

The proportion of births to unmarried women varies in a

distinct pattern according to mother’s education. The percent

is highest for mothers with 9–11 years of school completed, 59

percent in 1992. This is followed by mothers with a grade

school education, 44 percent. For mothers with at least a high

school diploma, the proportion of births to unmarried women

declined continuously from 32 percent for women with 12

years of schooling to 5 percent for college graduates (table F).

Some of this pattern is related to the generally younger age

distribution of unmarried mothers. However, even when maternal age is taken into account, it is apparent that mothers with

9–11 years of school consistently have the highest proportions

of nonmarital births; for these mothers aged 20 years and

older, the proportions ranged from 41 percent (women 35 and

older) to 58 percent (aged 20 years).

The proportion of nonmarital births among mothers who

had completed high school declined from 77 percent for the

youngest mothers to about 20 percent for mothers aged 30

years and older. Among mothers with some college education,

the proportion unmarried tended to decline more sharply with

advancing age, from 69 percent for 18-year-old mothers to

12–14 percent for mothers aged 25 years and older. Similarly,

the proportion unmarried dropped sharply for college graduates, from 33 percent for 21-year-olds to 4–6 percent for

mothers 25 years and older.

Race and Hispanic origin

In examining differences in the proportions of nonmarital

births by education, it is important to look at Hispanic and

white non-Hispanic women separately because, as noted in the

section on birth rates, the educational attainment of Hispanic

women tends to be considerably lower than that of white

non-Hispanic women regardless of any other characteristic

(table D).

Although the absolute proportions of nonmarital births

differ substantially by race and Hispanic origin, the proportions were consistently highest for mothers with 9–11 years of

schooling, followed by those with a grade school education

(table F). The disparity by race and Hispanic origin was

smallest for women with 9–11 years of education and increased

steadily with increasing education. This pattern was observed

regardless of maternal age. Overall, among births to mothers

who were college graduates, the proportions of nonmarital

births ranged from 3 percent for white non-Hispanic births to

13 percent for Hispanic births and 26 percent for black nonHispanic births.

The proportions of unmarried women were highest for

black non-Hispanic mothers in each educational attainment/

age group and they declined little with advancing maternal

age. Except for births to older women with some college and

to college graduates, more than half of all births in each

category were to unmarried mothers. Within the college

graduate group, the nonmarital proportions dropped from

70 percent for 21-year-old black mothers to 19–21 percent for

mothers aged 30 years and older.

Because the nonmarital proportions for black births declined

relatively little for older mothers, the racial differential in

nonmarital proportions increased with advancing maternal

age. The ratio of the black non-Hispanic to the white nonHispanic proportion was 2 or less for births to mothers aged

21 years and under. However, for births to older mothers, the

racial disparity increased sharply from 2.7 for 22-year-olds to

6.2 for births to women aged 30–34 years and then declined.

This pattern was generally observed within each educational

attainment category.

Table E. Number and percent of births to unmarried women by

race and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992

Race and Hispanic origin

Number

of births

Percent of

all births

All races .................. 1,224,876 30.1

White ................... 721,986 22.6

Black ................... 458,969 68.1

American Indian ............ 21,825 55.3

Chinese ................. 1,537 6.1

Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890 9.8

Hawaiian ................ 2,688 45.7

Filipino .................. 4,879 16.8

Other Asian or Pacific Islander . . . 12,102 14.9

All Hispanic1 ................ 251,737 39.1

Mexican1 ................. 156,809 36.3

Puerto Rican1 .............. 34,275 57.5

Cuban1 .................. 2,323 20.2

Central and South American1 .... 39,115 43.9

Other and unknown Hispanic1 .... 19,215 37.6

Non-Hispanic2 ............... 958,804 28.5

White ................... 468,739 18.5

Black ................... 449,351 68.3

Origin not stated.............. 11,267 28.2

1Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

2Includes races other than white and black.

NOTE: Figures by Hispanic origin exclude data for New Hampshire, which did not require the

reporting of Hispanic origin on the birth certificate.

11
The majority of nonmarital births occur to young women

and poorly educated women. Women in these groups account

for disproportionate shares of Hispanic and black nonHispanic births. To determine if the large overall differential in

nonmarital births by race and Hispanic origin results from the

differences in the distributions of white non-Hispanic, black

non-Hispanic, and Hispanic births by age and education,

standardized proportions of nonmarital births have been computed. (See appendix.)

The standard population used was the distribution of all

births in 1992 by age and educational attainment of mother. As

a result of standardization, the differential between the black

non-Hispanic and white non-Hispanic proportions declined

from 3.7 to 2.7. The differential declined because the adjusted

white non-Hispanic proportion (22.0 percent) was higher than

the unadjusted proportion (18.5 percent), while the adjusted

black non-Hispanic proportion (58.8 percent) was lower than

the unadjusted proportion (68.3 percent). Similarly, the differential between the proportions for Hispanic and white nonHispanic births declined from 2.1 to 1.5. This decline reflects

the reduction in the nonmarital proportion for Hispanic women

due to adjustment from 39.1 percent to 32.0 percent, as well as

the increase for white non-Hispanic births.

As was the case for standardized rates, standardized

nonmarital proportions resulted in reduced differentials between

black and white births and between Hispanic and white births.

However, considerable disparities remain after the differences

in composition by age and education are considered. This is

because the age-education-specific proportions of nonmarital

births are consistently higher for black non-Hispanic and

Hispanic births than for white non-Hispanic births.

Table F. Percent of births to unmarried mothers by age, education, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: United States, 1992

Years of school completed

by mother, Hispanic origin, and race1 Allages2

Age of mother

15–17

years

18

years

19

years

20

years

21

years

22

years

23

years

24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35 years

and over

Total3,4.................... 30.1 79.2 69.2 61.0 53.3 46.6 40.3 34.3 29.7 19.8 14.3 15.6

Hispanic3 .................. 39.1 69.0 60.6 54.4 49.7 45.3 41.8 38.5 36.2 30.8 27.2 28.9

Non-Hispanic3,5 .............. 28.5 82.2 71.5 62.6 54.2 46.9 39.9 33.4 28.2 17.9 12.6 13.7

White3................... 18.5 71.6 59.7 49.9 41.2 33.8 28.1 22.7 18.2 10.7 7.5 8.9

Black3 ................... 68.3 95.7 92.5 89.0 84.2 79.6 74.5 69.7 65.3 55.1 46.7 44.3

0–8 years4 ................. 44.0 73.4 56.9 51.4 48.8 45.2 42.5 39.2 38.2 34.8 30.7 30.6

Hispanic ................... 41.5 63.1 54.1 50.0 48.6 45.6 43.7 41.1 40.0 37.3 33.4 33.3

Non-Hispanic5 ............... 48.7 79.8 60.3 53.7 49.0 44.3 39.8 34.5 33.6 28.3 23.4 24.2

White ................... 40.4 67.7 52.5 46.9 42.9 38.5 34.5 30.2 29.2 23.7 18.0 18.0

Black ................... 86.3 96.9 92.1 89.1 88.1 82.6 78.4 76.7 73.9 68.0 58.3 56.3

9–11 years4................. 59.2 80.6 70.3 63.6 58.4 55.0 52.4 49.9 48.1 45.2 42.7 41.1

Hispanic ................... 51.1 71.2 62.2 57.2 53.6 50.2 47.7 45.4 43.2 40.7 38.0 38.2

Non-Hispanic5 ............... 62.0 82.9 72.5 65.5 59.9 56.6 54.1 51.8 50.2 47.3 44.8 42.4

White ................... 48.5 72.5 60.0 52.0 46.6 42.8 41.2 39.2 37.2 34.4 31.8 31.2

Black ................... 87.9 95.7 93.7 91.8 88.9 87.4 85.5 83.0 83.1 79.1 73.8 65.9

12 years4 .................. 32.4 76.5 70.1 60.3 51.5 44.6 38.7 33.7 30.0 23.1 19.4 21.2

Hispanic ................... 35.4 67.9 62.2 53.7 47.0 42.6 38.4 34.9 33.0 28.3 26.4 27.6

Non-Hispanic5 ............... 32.0 78.3 71.3 61.2 52.2 44.9 38.8 33.5 29.6 22.4 18.5 20.4

White ................... 21.3 68.4 60.1 48.6 38.8 31.6 26.5 22.5 18.9 13.8 11.5 13.3

Black ................... 69.7 93.8 91.4 87.5 82.9 78.4 73.6 70.2 67.0 60.5 55.1 52.5

13–15 years4 ................ 19.4 67.1 68.7 60.9 50.6 40.9 32.3 25.9 21.4 14.3 11.8 13.7

Hispanic ................... 24.9 63.9 63.3 53.7 45.9 37.6 32.4 28.7 25.5 19.9 18.3 22.0

Non-Hispanic5 ............... 18.9 67.6 69.6 61.9 51.1 41.3 32.4 25.6 20.9 13.8 11.3 13.1

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 57.4 58.4 49.3 38.6 29.2 21.8 16.6 12.7 7.9 6.6 8.5

Black ................... 52.4 90.2 88.3 86.6 80.1 73.3 66.2 59.3 53.9 44.1 39.6 40.3

16 years or more4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 – – – 42.8 33.3 27.7 17.8 11.5 4.8 3.8 6.3

Hispanic ................... 12.9 – – – 40.2 33.7 33.0 24.6 20.2 12.2 10.4 12.7

Non-Hispanic5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 – – – 43.5 33.3 27.3 17.3 10.9 4.4 3.5 6.0

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 – – – 31.9 23.1 19.4 10.9 6.8 2.6 2.4 4.8

Black ................... 25.5 – – – 75.2 70.2 65.1 54.5 42.4 25.6 18.5 20.9

1Totals for years of school completed by mother include origin not stated and races other than white and black.

2Includes births to mothers under age 15 years.

3Includes figures for educational attainment not stated.

4Includes origin not stated.

5Includes races other than white and black.

NOTE: Figures by Hispanic origin exclude data for New Hampshire, which did not require reporting of Hispanic origin on the birth certificate. Only 0.25 percent of nonmarital births and 0.4 percent

of all births were to New Hampshire residents in 1992.

12
State

Trends in numbers and proportions of births to unmarried

mothers by race and State are shown in tables 6 and 7. Much

of the considerable variation by State in these measures is

associated with the variations in births by Hispanic origin, age,

marital status, and educational attainment, which reflect

differences in the State populations by these characteristics.

Because populations of unmarried women by State or other

geographic subgroup are often not available to compute birth

rates, the numbers and ratios are sometimes the only measures

available to monitor trends in nonmarital childbearing below

the national level.

13
Factors affecting the

incidence of nonmarital

childbearing

Population at risk

As indicated earlier, one critical factor in determining the

number of births occurring to unmarried mothers is the

nonmarital birth rate. The other critical factor which statistically determines the number of nonmarital births is the

number of unmarried women.

There have been several distinct periods in the trends in

these two factors. The birth rate tripled from 1940 to 1957,

increased more moderately between 1957 and 1970, declined

briefly until 1976, and has increased almost continuously since

1976.

Trends in the number of unmarried women of childbearing age have been quite different. The number declined from

12.5 million in 1940 to 9.5 million in 1954–55, a 24-percent

drop. Over the next decade, the number increased 31 percent,

to 12.4 million in 1965. Between 1965 and 1992, the number

of unmarried women more than doubled, totaling 27.1 million

in 1992 (table G).

These changes in the number of unmarried women reflect

two distinctive changes in population and marriage patterns

over the last half century. First is the unprecedented growth of

the total population beginning immediately after World War II

and continuing through the early 1960’s. Women born during

these years, the ‘‘baby-boom’’ generation, constitute a large

portion of the population in the childbearing ages (15). A shift

in marriage patterns has also accelerated the increase in the

number of unmarried women. The age at marriage had been

declining through the late 1940’s, causing a decrease in the

proportion of unmarried women through the mid 1950’s.

Beginning in the late 1950’s, the age at marriage began to

increase as large proportions of young women remained

unmarried in each age group (25,26). (Data for 1960–92 are

shown in table G.) These dramatic shifts were particularly

noticeable for women aged 18–34, who accounted for 82 percent of nonmarital births in 1992. In age groups 20 years and

older, the proportions of women who were unmarried in 1992

were two to three times the proportions in 1960.

Thus, the increase in nonmarital births has resulted statistically from a changing set of factors. From 1940 to 1957, the

increase resulted entirely from the increased birth rate. From

1957 to 1970, the increase in the number of births was more a

result of the 57-percent growth in the population at risk

(unmarried women) and to a lesser extent the 26-percent rise

in the birth rate. Since 1970, the number of unmarried women

increased 79 percent and the birth rate rose 71 percent, each

factor contributing about the same to the statistical rise in the

number of nonmarital births.

Sexual activity and contraceptive use

Sexual activity and contraceptive use are among the

factors affecting levels and trends in nonmarital childbearing.

There has been a sharp increase during the 1980’s in the

proportion of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse (7).

For all teens aged 15–19 years, the increase was from 47 percent in 1982 to 55 percent in 1990; for young teens 15–17

years, the proportion rose from 32 to 41 percent, and for older

teens it increased from 64 to 74 percent. Black teens are more

likely than white teens to be sexually experienced (7).

Somewhat attenuating the risk of pregnancy among teenagers who had premarital intercourse has been a significant

rise since the early 1980’s in the use of contraception at first

intercourse, from 53 percent in 1980–82 to 71 percent in 1990

(6). This increase in contraceptive use is probably one factor

in the 11-percent decline in the pregnancy rate for all sexually

experienced teens during the 1980’s (8).

Pregnancy and abortion

The proportion of premarital pregnancies that end in

induced abortion is another factor affecting the risk of a

nonmarital birth. Because pregnancies among teenagers are

most likely to be nonmarital, the resolution of these

pregnancies—whether as a live birth, fetal loss, or an induced

abortion—is of particular interest. The proportion ending in

abortion has declined from 39 percent in 1980 to 33 percent in

1991, indicating a declining likelihood of abortion among

pregnant teenagers (8,27). Pregnancy estimates for unmarried

women of all ages for 1980 and 1991 show an increase in the

overall pregnancy rate from 91 to 103 per 1,000 unmarried

women aged 15–44 years, with all of the increase reflected in

an increase in the birth rate; the induced abortion rate fell

about 12 percent (8).

Premarital conceptions ending in marital

births

A pregnancy conceived outside of marriage can have

several possible outcomes. These include a nonmarital birth, a

miscarriage, an induced abortion, or a marital birth. A marital

birth occurs when a premaritally pregnant woman marries

14
before the birth of her child. Data from several surveys

suggest that the discovery of a nonmarital conception is no

longer as much of an impetus to a quickly arranged marriage.

The 1972 and 1980 National Natality Surveys provide

data documenting substantial increases in premarital pregnancies, with increasing proportions of these pregnancies ending

in nonmarital births (28). Recent data from the Current

Population Survey fertility supplements show that this pattern

has continued to the present (14). Data from these surveys also

show that these changes have occurred for both white and

black women, but the levels of all premarital pregnancies and

premarital births were much higher for black than for white

women.

There was a considerable decline in the likelihood of

marriage prior to the birth of a child that was premaritally

conceived. For example, among women aged 15–34 years

whose first child was born in 1960–64, 52 percent who were

premaritally pregnant married before the birth of the child.

This proportion dropped to 27 percent for mothers having their

first birth in 1985–89. These declines were particularly sizeable for mothers who were teenagers when their first child was

born and were observed for white and black women (14).

About one-third of premaritally pregnant white women in

1985–89 married before the birth of the child, compared with

8 percent of comparable black women. Although these proportions were both sharply lower compared with 1960–64 levels

(61 percent for white women and 31 percent for black women),

the racial differential in the proportion marrying has increased

over the three decades for which data were available (14). This

is evidently a factor in the continued racial differential in

nonmarital birth rates.

Other factors

Several other factors should be considered in future

research on the causes of the high levels of childbearing by

unmarried women and the variations in these levels among

population subgroups.

These factors include ‘‘involuntary’’ controls over conception, such as age at menarche, involuntary sterility resulting

from sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), and patterns of

miscarriage. For example, the long-term decline in the age at

which menstruation begins (29) would be associated with

higher levels of pregnancy and childbearing among young

Table G. Number and percent of women who are unmarried by age and race: United States, selected years, 1960–92

[Populations as of July 1 for all years]

Race of women and year

Ages 15–44 years 15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

Number years 1 Percent Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

All races2 Percent

1992 ..................... 27,098 45.9 95.4 98.6 90.7 68.1 41.1 30.2 26.2 26.2

1990 ..................... 26,588 45.3 95.3 98.6 91.0 66.1 38.8 28.6 25.4 25.9

1985 ..................... 25,287 44.6 94.0 98.1 88.0 61.3 35.2 26.5 23.1 23.1

1980 ..................... 22,681 42.8 92.0 97.4 84.4 54.4 29.8 21.9 19.1 18.8

1975 ..................... 18,315 38.5 89.0 96.4 77.9 44.4 21.1 15.4 15.0 15.3

1970 ..................... 15,121 35.5 89.2 97.0 77.2 38.6 15.9 12.0 12.2 13.8

1965 ..................... 12,419 31.8 87.9 - - - - - - 33.4 13.1 9.4 10.7 12.9

1960 ..................... 10,392 28.8 85.8 - - - - - - 30.8 12.9 11.2 11.8 13.9

White

1992 ..................... 20,489 42.5 94.7 98.4 89.3 65.1 37.2 26.2 22.7 23.9

1990 ..................... 20,372 42.2 94.7 98.3 89.8 63.3 35.4 25.2 22.3 23.6

1985 ..................... 19,832 41.9 93.1 97.9 86.3 58.2 31.8 24.0 20.8 21.2

1980 ..................... 18,201 40.5 91.4 97.1 83.3 51.5 27.1 19.7 16.8 17.1

1975 ..................... 15,002 36.7 88.4 96.1 77.0 42.6 19.1 14.1 13.0 13.9

1970 ..................... 12,643 34.1 89.1 96.9 77.0 37.2 14.2 10.7 10.6 12.7

1965 ..................... 10,700 31.3 87.9 - - - - - - 32.9 12.3 8.9 11.3

1960 ..................... 8,950 28.1 85.8 - - - - - - 30.2 12.2 10.4 12.2

Black

1992 ..................... 5,305 65.5 98.4 99.6 96.6 82.4 62.3 54.6 49.9 44.7

1990 ..................... 5,031 63.6 98.2 100.0 95.7 80.5 58.6 50.2 46.1 44.4

1985 ..................... 4,627 62.7 98.3 99.3 96.9 78.0 57.1 45.1 41.3 38.8

1980 ..................... 3,929 58.4 95.9 99.0 91.3 70.8 46.6 37.6 34.9 31.5

1975 ..................... 2,964 51.0 91.9 97.5 83.2 56.8 36.2 25.6 29.9 25.7

1970 ..................... 2,252 45.1 90.3 97.9 77.7 47.7 27.2 21.6 23.6 23.6

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

1In thousands.

2Includes races other than white and black.

Source: Number of unmarried women computed based on three-year moving average of percent unmarried by age and race, applied to population estimates published by U.S. Bureau of the

Census, as of July 1 for each year. See Technical notes.

15
teens. In contrast, the rising incidence of STD’s (30) would

tend to limit fertility among those affected.

Changes have also occurred in public attitudes concerning

childbearing outside of marriage. The social disapproval once

associated with nonmarital childbearing has declined. This is

evidenced, for example, in the willingness of public schools to

permit pregnant teenagers to attend regular classes and in the

provision of child care in some schools for the children of

these students.

Recently published data show that pregnancies are less

likely to end in abortion and more likely to end in live birth

(8,27). Further research is needed to determine whether the

decline in the abortion-to-live-birth ratio is linked to increased

difficulty in obtaining abortion services (31) or to an increased

preference for carrying the pregnancy to term.

16
Characteristics of unmarried

mothers

Age

There have been several sharp swings in the distribution

of nonmarital births by age of mother since 1940 (table H).

Teenage mothers typically accounted for 40–50 percent of the

total until about 1980; the peak year was 1973 at 53 percent.

Since 1980, there has been a steady decline in the proportion

of nonmarital births occurring to teens—30 percent in 1992.

However, the number of all nonmarital births continued to

increase, to 365,039 in 1992, which is 34 percent more than in

1980.

In 1940, 30 percent of nonmarital births were to mothers

aged 20–24 years. Only about one in five was aged 25 and

older. By 1950, and continuing until about 1960, the proportion of births to mothers 25 and older had increased to nearly

30 percent, while the proportion aged 20–24 years remained at

about 30 percent.

Beginning about 1970 and continuing to the present time,

the numbers and proportions of nonmarital births to mothers

aged 25 and older have increased rapidly. The numbers of

births by age for women 25 years and older in 1992 were three

to seven times the numbers reported in 1970 (table 4).

Maternal age is one of the key characteristics distinguishing nonmarital and marital births. This is true in spite of the

sharp changes in the age distribution of nonmarital births in

recent years. For example, teen mothers accounted for 30 percent of nonmarital births in 1992, but only 5 percent of marital

births. Of all nonmarital births in 1992, about two-thirds were

to mothers under age 25, compared with about one-fourth of

births to married mothers.

It is the disproportionate share of nonmarital births to teen

mothers that is of concern because of the elevated risks

associated with childbearing at a young age. Teen mothers,

especially unmarried teen mothers, have more limited education, are less likely to get adequate prenatal care, are more

likely to smoke, less likely to gain adequate weight during

pregnancy, and have higher rates of conditions such as anemia

and pregnancy-associated hypertension (1,32–34). As a consequence, their babies are at elevated risk of low birthweight,

preterm delivery, fetal distress, and other adverse outcomes.

An indication of the extent to which today’s teenage

population has been impacted by early childbearing is that

958,400 women aged 15–19 in 1992, or more than one in nine

women in that age group, had had at least one child. Threequarters of these women, 729,400, first became mothers

outside of marriage.

Live-birth order

Since 1980, when national data on live-birth order for

nonmarital births first became available, there has been a

gradual decline in the proportion of these births that are the

mother’s first birth. In that year, first births constituted 56 percent of all nonmarital births. By 1992, 48 percent of all births

to unmarried mothers were the mother’s first birth (table B).

This proportion typically declines sharply with advancing age

of mother. In 1992, more than three-quarters of births to

unmarried teenaged mothers compared with about one in five

births to unmarried mothers aged 35 and older were the

Table H. Number and percent distribution of births to unmarried mothers by age: United States, selected years, 1940–92

Year

All

ages

Under 20

years

20–24

years

25 years

and over

All

ages

Under 20

years

20–24

years

25 years

and over

Number Percent distribution

1992 ..................... 1,224,876 365,039 435,727 424,110 100.0 29.8 35.6 34.6

1990 ..................... 1,165,384 360,645 403,873 400,866 100.0 30.9 34.7 34.4

1985 ..................... 828,174 280,308 300,365 247,501 100.0 33.8 36.3 29.9

1980 ..................... 665,747 271,801 237,265 156,681 100.0 40.8 35.6 23.5

1975 ..................... 447,900 233,500 134,000 80,400 100.0 52.1 29.9 18.0

1970 ..................... 398,700 199,900 126,700 72,100 100.0 50.1 31.8 18.1

1965 ..................... 291,200 129,300 90,700 71,500 100.0 44.4 31.1 24.6

1960 ..................... 224,300 91,700 68,000 64,600 100.0 40.9 30.3 28.8

1955 ..................... 183,300 72,800 55,700 54,800 100.0 39.7 30.4 29.9

1950 ..................... 141,600 59,200 43,100 39,400 100.0 41.8 30.4 27.8

1940 ..................... 89,500 42,600 27,200 19,700 100.0 47.6 30.4 22.0

Note: Figures by age may not add to totals for years prior to 1980 because of rounding.

17
mother’s first birth. White nonmarital births were more likely

to be the mother’s first child (52 percent) than were black

births (40 percent).

Educational attainment

Nonmarital childbearing has a negative effect on maternal

educational attainment. In 1992, 15 percent of married mothers compared with 43 percent of unmarried mothers had not

completed high school (table D). Some of this disparity is

related to the younger age composition of nonmarital births.

However, when the comparison is restricted to mothers aged

20 and older, who would be assumed to have had the

opportunity to complete high school, the gap in educational

attainment between married and unmarried mothers is greater.

For example, 13 percent of married mothers aged 20 and older

had less than a high school education compared with 33 percent of unmarried mothers. This type of deficit has a

long-lasting, even permanent, impact on the mother and

her family’s long-term chances for improved economic and

social stability.

As noted above, educational attainment of Hispanic women

is generally limited, regardless of age. Thus, the differential by

marital status in educational attainment is smallest for Hispanic women: 47 percent of married mothers compared with

65 percent of unmarried mothers had less than a high school

education.

The differentials by marital status were more noticeable

for white and black non-Hispanic mothers, especially at ages

20 and older. Among white non-Hispanic mothers, there was

little difference by marital status in educational level for

teenage mothers. Beginning at ages 20–24, the gap by marital

status increased sharply. Among black non-Hispanic women,

unmarried mothers in every age group were more likely than

married mothers to have completed fewer than 12 years of

school.

18
Health aspects of

childbearing by unmarried

women

Unmarried mothers tend to have poorer birth outcomes

than married mothers because they are disproportionately

young, poorly educated, and are more likely to be poor (35).

Although there have been dramatic shifts in nonmarital childbearing patterns over the past two decades, these changes have

not had any impact on eliminating the disadvantages that

unmarried mothers face. As shown above, unmarried mothers

are more likely to be teenagers, 30 percent compared with

5 percent of births to married mothers. Unmarried mothers are

substantially less likely to complete high school (43 percent)

compared with married mothers (15 percent), a disparity that

increases with maternal age. As a consequence, unmarried

mothers face a higher risk of poverty and poor chances for

significant improvement over their lifetime (35–37). The youth,

limited education, and high poverty rates of women who

become mothers outside of marriage have negative consequences for their children. These mothers often lack the skills

and resources to provide for the growth and development of

their children.

Studies dating back 25 years or more point to the higher

risks of nonmarital childbearing that persist today. Babies born

to unmarried mothers of all ages are at greater risk than babies

born to married mothers because of higher levels of inadequate prenatal care, higher maternal smoking rates, and

higher levels of insufficient maternal weight gain (33,34).

Furthermore, the risk of dying in infancy is greater among

nonmarital births, particularly in the postneonatal period (38,39).

A study published almost two decades ago summarized this

problem as follows: ‘‘... once outside the hospital, the children

are exposed to economic and social conditions that negate

[the] advances [in prenatal, obstetrical, and neonatal intensive

care] and reduce their later life chances’’ (39). Little has

happened in the last 20 years to modify this bleak assessment

(38).

Prenatal care

Timely and comprehensive prenatal care has been shown

to be of great potential value in improving pregnancy and birth

outcome. Such care can be especially valuable for women

whose resources and sources of emotional and other support

are limited. Ideally, prenatal care should include detailed

advice on adequate nutrition and weight gain, guidance on

avoiding tobacco and alcohol, and careful monitoring of the

progress of the pregnancy. This includes screening for such

conditions as anemia and diabetes, which can have negative

consequences for pregnancy outcome (40).

For this report, the Kessner Index has been used to

measure receipt of prenatal care (41). This is a threecomponent index that evaluates prenatal care according to the

month the care began, the number of visits made for prenatal

care, and the length of gestation. Care is classified as adequate,

intermediate, or inadequate according to these criteria (see

Technical notes).

It is apparent from data in table J for 1992 that married

mothers, regardless of race, are more likely than unmarried

mothers to receive adequate care. White mothers have higher

rates of adequate care than black mothers in each marital

status category.

It is widely accepted that receipt of prenatal care is

directly associated with the mother’s educational attainment;

that is, better-educated mothers have higher rates of adequate

prenatal care, which in turn is associated with better outcomes

as measured, for example, by low birthweight (42). Data in

table K confirm the strong relationship between educational

attainment and receipt of prenatal care for married and unmarried women regardless of maternal age. Unmarried mothers

were much less likely than married mothers to receive adequate

care, regardless of mother’s education. However, within each

marital status category, the proportion receiving adequate care

increased with increasing maternal education. Thus bettereducated mothers were more apt to receive adequate care than

their less educated counterparts. These relationships were

observed for teenaged mothers as well as for mothers aged 20

years and older.

Tobacco use

Smoking during pregnancy has repeatedly been shown to

be linked with an elevated risk of a low-birthweight outcome

(1,32,34,43–46). Additionally, studies have shown that there is

no safe level of smoking, that is, births to mothers who

smoked even five cigarettes or less per day had higher rates of

low birthweight than did babies born to nonsmokers (1).

There is a substantial gap in smoking rates between

married and unmarried mothers, a gap that persists for both

white and black mothers as well as for every educational

attainment group. Overall, 26 percent of unmarried mothers

smoked during pregnancy in 1992 compared with 13 percent

of married mothers. Married black mothers were least likely to

19
have smoked—9 percent overall—followed by married white

mothers (14 percent), unmarried black mothers (16 percent),

and unmarried white mothers (34 percent) (table L).

When smoking rates are examined by educational attainment, a clear pattern emerges: married and unmarried mothers

with 9–11 years of schooling had the highest smoking rates.

This pattern was observed for both teen mothers and older

mothers, and for white and black mothers, with only one

exception. Smoking rates for unmarried black teen mothers

were highest for those with 0–8 years of schooling.

Smoking rates were generally highest for unmarried white

women aged 20 years and older, regardless of mother’s

educational attainment. The rates for these women ranged

from 16 percent for unmarried college graduates to 49 percent

for unmarried women with 9–11 years of schooling. Smoking

rates were relatively low, 5–6 percent overall, for married and

unmarried black teens, as well as for married black women

aged 20 years and older (9 percent overall). Rates were

considerably higher for unmarried black women aged 20 years

and older, 21 percent on the average.

Maternal weight gain

Many studies have shown the importance of adequate

weight gain during pregnancy for optimum pregnancy outcome (1,32–33,45–47). Inadequate weight gain has been associated with elevated risk of low birthweight and preterm

delivery, which are both linked to more compromised prospects for the infant’s survival and health.

Guidelines issued in 1990 by the Institute of Medicine of

the National Academy of Sciences recommended a weight

gain of 25–35 pounds for women of average size. However,

young women and black women were advised to gain at the

upper end of the guidelines for their height and weight (48).

Unmarried mothers were considerably more likely to gain

less than 16 pounds, well below the standard for women of

any height/weight (table M). In 1992, 11 percent of unmarried

teen mothers and 14 percent of unmarried mothers aged 20

years and older had this minimal weight gain, compared with

8 percent of married mothers in both age groups.

Poor weight gain is more pronounced among older women

and among black women regardless of marital status.

Table J. Number of births and percent distribution by adequacy of prenatal care, according to marital status and race of mother:

United States, 1992

Adequacy of care1

All races2 White Black

Married Unmarried Married Unmarried Married Unmarried

Number

Number of births.............. 2,840,138 1,224,876 2,479,692 721,986 214,664 458,969

Percent distribution3

Total ..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Adequate .................. 78.0 51.7 79.2 55.1 69.1 46.9

Intermediate ................ 17.8 33.7 16.9 32.7 23.6 35.2

Inadequate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 14.6 3.8 12.3 7.3 17.9

1Adequacy of care as defined by Kessner Index. See Technical notes.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Based on births for which all items comprising adequacy of care were reported.

Table K. Percent of births to mothers with adequate prenatal care by education, age, race, and marital status of mother: United States,

1992

[Adequate prenatal care is defined by the Kessner Index; see Technical notes]

Age and years of school

completed by mother

All races1 White Black

Married Unmarried Married Unmarried Married Unmarried

Under 20 years2 .............. 57.6 47.4 58.5 51.3 50.4 41.9

0–8 years ................ 44.4 38.4 44.7 40.0 40.3 35.4

9–11 years ............... 55.3 46.5 56.2 51.0 46.7 40.5

12 years ................. 64.2 52.5 65.6 57.1 53.8 46.3

13–15 years .............. 67.6 53.7 69.1 57.3 60.9 49.5

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- ---

20 years and over2 ............ 79.1 53.6 80.4 56.6 70.0 49.2

0–8 years ................ 47.5 39.4 47.2 39.3 51.7 38.9

9–11 years ............... 60.0 45.5 61.0 50.0 50.2 38.0

12 years ................. 77.4 55.5 79.2 60.3 65.0 49.6

13–15 years .............. 83.5 62.5 84.9 65.6 74.9 59.2

16 years or more ........... 88.6 72.5 89.5 75.6 83.1 67.2

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes births to mothers with educational attainment not reported.

20
Additionally, minimal weight gains were very frequent among

mothers with less than a high school education, the same

group with high smoking rates and high rates of inadequate

prenatal care. A recent study found that pregnant women were

likely to follow advice on weight gain received from their

prenatal care provider (47). However, black women and

unmarried women were more likely to report receiving advice

that did not conform to the standards in effect at the time of

the study. It is apparent that appropriate prenatal care with

special attention given to adequate nutrition could be useful in

improving the weight gain of many pregnant women (49).

Birthweight

The incidence of low birthweight (weight of less than

2,500 grams) has been directly associated with a number of

factors, including maternal nutrition, health, tobacco use,

prenatal care, and poverty status (1,33–34,50). These are

considered to be critical variables in accounting for variations

in low birthweight (LBW). Low birthweight, in turn, is a

major predictor of infant morbidity and mortality. The death

rate for LBW infants in 1985 was 22 times that of infants

weighing at least 2,500 grams (38).

Table L. Percent of mothers who smoked during pregnancy by education, age, marital status, and race of mother: Total of 46 reporting

States and the District of Columbia, 1992

Age and years of school

completed by mother

Married Unmarried

All

races1 White Black

All

races1 White Black

All ages2 .................. 13.3 13.9 8.8 25.9 34.0 16.1

0–8 years ................ 13.0 13.6 11.2 21.9 26.8 11.5

9–11 years ............... 31.1 32.7 19.9 30.3 39.6 19.2

12 years ................. 17.5 18.6 9.7 25.6 34.7 15.2

13–15 years .............. 10.0 10.6 6.7 20.6 27.5 13.1

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 3.7 3.2 12.9 15.6 9.5

Under 20 years of age2 ......... 19.3 20.6 4.5 17.8 27.5 5.9

0–8 years ................ 21.7 22.3 9.3 18.8 28.0 5.4

9–11 years ............... 23.9 25.3 6.3 19.6 30.2 6.9

12 years ................. 14.4 15.6 2.6 15.2 23.9 4.1

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 8.1 * 8.5 14.0 2.1

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- ---

20 years of age and over2........ 12.9 13.5 9.0 29.7 37.1 21.0

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 11.7 11.6 25.1 25.9 26.4

9–11 years ............... 33.7 35.5 23.7 42.2 49.4 33.7

12 years ................. 17.7 18.7 10.1 28.5 37.9 18.2

13–15 years .............. 10.1 10.6 6.8 21.6 28.7 14.1

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 3.7 3.2 12.9 15.6 9.5

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes births with educational attainment not reported.

NOTE: Excludes data for California, Indiana, New York, and South Dakota, which did not require reporting of tobacco use on the birth certificate.

Table M. Percent of births to mothers gaining less than 16 pounds during pregnancy by education, age, marital status, and race of

mother: Total of 49 reporting States and the District of Columbia, 1992

Age and years of school

completed by mother

Married Unmarried

All

races1 White Black

All

races1 White Black

Under 20 years of age2 . . . . . . . . . 8.1 7.7 12.6 11.4 8.2 15.6

0–8 years ................ 12.8 12.4 18.9 14.1 11.5 17.9

9–11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 8.1 14.0 11.5 8.1 16.1

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 6.0 11.0 10.0 7.0 14.1

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 5.8 9.0 9.0 7.2 11.4

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- ---

20 years of age and over2. . . . . . . . 8.4 7.9 13.6 13.8 11.1 17.4

0–8 years ................ 16.3 15.3 21.8 18.7 16.7 24.5

9–11 years ............... 13.4 12.7 20.3 16.6 12.8 21.9

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.7 9.2 14.9 13.3 10.4 17.0

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 7.4 12.3 11.1 9.0 13.6

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 4.5 9.5 8.7 6.7 12.1

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes births to mothers with educational attainment not reported.

NOTE: Excludes data for California, which did not require reporting of weight gain on the birth certificate.

21
Low birthweight levels for nonmarital births are considerably elevated compared with marital births, 10.4 percent

compared with 5.7 percent in 1992. This pattern is observed

for births to mothers in all age groups, but is particularly

noticeable for births to mothers aged 20 years and older (table

N). The LBW rates were 61–133 percent higher among nonmarital compared with marital births to mothers aged 20 years

and older. In contrast, marital status has less impact on LBW

levels for births to teens. That is, births to teenaged mothers

were at generally greater risk of LBW, regardless of marital

status.

Low birthweight rates were much higher for black than

for white births in each age/marital status category. The lowest

rates for black births (to married mothers aged 20–34 years)

were comparable to the highest rates for white births (measured for unmarried mothers under age 15 years and ages 35

years and older). Rates of LBW for black births increased

sharply beginning with ages 20–24 years. Thus, the racial

disparity in LBW rates is greater for older women.

As noted earlier, LBW is associated with such factors as

maternal nutrition, smoking during pregnancy, and education.

Data in table O show the patterns of LBW rates by maternal

smoking status. Mothers who smoked during pregnancy were

more likely to give birth to a low-birthweight infant, with a

greater differential observed for mothers aged 20 years and

older than for teenaged mothers. Although marital status had

relatively little effect on low birthweight rates for teenaged

mothers, LBW rates for births to older unmarried women who

smoked were noticeably higher than for unmarried nonsmokers. This pattern was observed for both white and black

women. However, LBW rates for black births were higher

than for white births, regardless of maternal age, marital

status, or smoking status.

Educational attainment is another important factor accounting for differences in low birthweight. Rates are generally

highest for births to mothers with less than a high school

education, and decline steadily thereafter (table P).

Differences by education are apparent for births to married and unmarried women within each age group. Advanced

educational attainment is associated with a lower risk of LBW

for married and unmarried women, although nonmarital births

were at greater risk of low birthweight than births to married

women in each age-education-race subgroup.

The racial differential in low birthweight also persists in

each age-education-marital status subgroup. For example, the

LBW rate for black births to unmarried college graduates was

12.8, nearly twice the rate for white unmarried college graduates (6.8 percent). The causes of this persistent differential

need to be explored.

Table N. Percent low birthweight by age, marital status, and race of mother: United States, 1992

[Low birthweight includes birthweight of less than 2,500 grams (5 lb 8 oz)]

Race and marital status

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–17

years

18

years

19

years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–49

years

All races1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 13.2 10.1 9.0 8.5 7.1 6.2 6.5 7.7 8.5

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 10.6 8.3 7.4 6.9 5.7 5.1 5.5 6.5 7.5

Unmarried ................ 10.4 13.4 10.6 9.7 9.5 9.2 10.7 12.8 14.0 13.0

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 10.2 8.3 7.5 7.1 5.8 5.1 5.5 6.5 7.4

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 9.7 7.9 7.1 6.5 5.2 4.7 5.0 6.0 6.8

Unmarried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 10.3 8.5 7.7 7.6 7.1 7.8 9.2 10.7 10.8

Black ..................... 13.3 15.9 13.7 13.2 12.6 12.2 13.1 14.7 16.2 16.0

Married .................. 10.8 13.8 13.3 12.2 11.4 10.3 10.0 11.0 12.5 13.8

Unmarried ................ 14.5 15.9 13.8 13.3 12.7 12.8 15.6 19.0 20.7 19.1

1Includes races other than white and black.

Table O. Percent low birthweight by age, smoking status, marital status, and race of mother: Total of 46 reporting States and the District

of Columbia, 1992

[Low birthweight includes birthweight of less than 2,500 grams (5 lb 8 oz)]

Age and smoking

status of mother

All races1 White Black

Married Unmarried Married Unmarried Married Unmarried

Under 20 years2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6 10.6 7.2 8.4 12.5 13.7

Smoker ................. 10.1 11.4 10.1 10.6 16.4 16.8

Nonsmoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0 10.4 6.5 7.4 12.2 13.4

20 years and over2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 11.1 5.2 8.3 10.8 15.0

Smoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 14.8 8.8 11.0 19.8 23.5

Nonsmoker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 9.4 4.6 6.6 9.8 12.6

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes births with smoking status not reported.

NOTE: Excludes data for California, Indiana, New York, and South Dakota, which did not require reporting of tobacco use on the birth certificate.

22
Table P. Percent low birthweight by age, education, marital status, and race of mother: United States, 1992

[Low birthweight includes birthweight of less than 2,500 grams (5 lb 8 oz)]

Age and years of

school completed by mother

All races1 White Black

Married Unmarried Married Unmarried Married Unmarried

Under 20 years of age2 . . . . . . . . . 7.4 10.2 7.0 8.1 12.1 13.4

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.0 10.7 7.8 8.5 14.4 15.3

9–11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 10.4 7.4 8.4 12.6 13.5

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 9.4 6.4 7.2 11.4 12.6

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 8.5 6.0 6.4 10.6 11.5

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- --- --- ---

20 years of age and over2. . . . . . . . 5.6 10.5 5.1 7.9 10.7 15.0

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 7.7 5.3 6.9 10.7 15.6

9–11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 11.7 6.8 8.7 14.2 17.3

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 10.6 5.4 8.0 11.1 14.5

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 9.7 4.7 7.1 10.0 13.1

16 years or more . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 8.8 4.4 6.8 9.2 12.8

1Includes races other than white and black.

2Includes births to mothers with educational attainment not reported.

23
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42. Taffel, SM. Prenatal care: United States, 1969–1975. National

Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 21(33). 1978.

43. Kleinman JC, Madans JH. The effects of maternal smoking,

physical stature, and educational attainment on the incidence of

low birth weight. Am J Epidemiol 121(6):843–55. 1985.

44. Cunningham J, Dockery D, Speizer F. Maternal smoking during

pregnancy as a predictor of lung function in children. Am J

Epidemiol 139(12):1139–52. 1994.

45. National Center for Health Statistics. Advance report of new

data from the 1989 birth certificate. Monthly vital statistics

report; vol 40 no 12, suppl. Hyattsville, Maryland: Public

Health Service. 1992.

46. National Center for Health Statistics. Advance report of maternal and infant health data from the birth certificate, 1990.

Monthly vital statistics report; vol 42 no 2, suppl. Hyattsville,

Maryland: Public Health Service. 1993.

47. Taffel SM, Keppel KG, Jones GK. Medical advice on maternal

weight gain and actual weight gain: Results from the 1988

National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. In: Keen CL,

Bendich A, Willhite CC, eds. Proceedings of the Conference on

Maternal Nutrition and Pregnancy Outcome. Ann NY Acad Sci.

1993.

48. Institute of Medicine. Subcommittee on Nutritional Status and

Weight Gain During Pregnancy. Nutrition during pregnancy.

National Academy of Sciences. Washington: National Academy

Press. 1990.

49. Taffel SM, Keppel KG, Notzon FC. Don’t ignore weight gain

during pregnancy. Birth 21(4):229–30. 1994.

50. Taffel SM. Trends in low birth weight, United States, 1975–85.

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 21(48).

1989.

51. Heuser RL. Race and ethnicity in U.S. natality tabulations.

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Public

Health Association, Chicago, Illinois. October 24, 1989.

52. Ventura SJ. U.S. fertility data by race: New tabulations from

NCHS. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American

Public Health Association, Washington, D.C. November 10,

1992.

53. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Estimates of the population of the

United States and of the components of change, by age, color,

and sex: 1940 to 1950. Current population reports; series P-25,

no 98. Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1954.

54. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Estimates of the population of the

United States and components of change, by age, color, and sex:

1950 to 1960. Current population reports; series P-25, no 310.

Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1965.

55. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Estimates of the population of the

United States, by age, sex, and race: April 1, 1960 to July 1,

1973. Current population reports; series P-25, no 519. Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1974.

56. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Preliminary estimates of the population of the United States, by age, sex, and race: 1970 to 1981.

Current population reports; series P-25, no 917. Washington:

U.S. Department of Commerce. 1982.

57. U.S. Bureau of the Census. United States population estimates,

by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin: 1992. Census file

RESPO792. Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1994.

58. U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990 Census. Unpublished tabulation.

25
List of detailed tables

1. Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother: United

States, 1940–92, and by age of mother and race, 1940,

1950, and 1955–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

2. First birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of

mother, United States, 1980–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3. Birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of

mother: United States and each State, 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4. Number of births to unmarried women by age of mother

and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92. . . . . . . . . . . . 35

5. Ratios of births to unmarried women by age of mother and

race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

6. Number of live births to unmarried women by race of

mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and

1985–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

7. Ratios of births to unmarried women by race of mother:

United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92 . . 49

26

Symbols

- - - Data not available

. . . Category not applicable

– Quantity zero

0.0 Quantity more than zero but less than

0.05

* Figure does not meet standards of

reliability or precision (based on fewer

than 20 births in numerator or

denominator)
Table 1. Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother: United States, 1940–92, and by age of mother and race, 1940, 1950, and

1955–92

[Rates are live births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group]

Race and year

15–44

years1

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

All races Reported/inferred3

1992 ..................... 45.2 44.6 30.4 67.3 68.5 56.5 37.9 18.8 4.1

1991 ..................... 45.2 44.8 30.9 65.7 68.0 56.5 38.1 18.0 3.8

1990 ..................... 43.8 42.5 29.6 60.7 65.1 56.0 37.6 17.3 3.6

1989 ..................... 41.6 40.1 28.7 56.0 61.2 52.8 34.9 16.0 3.4

1988 ..................... 38.5 36.4 26.4 51.5 56.0 48.5 32.0 15.0 3.2

1987 ..................... 36.0 33.8 24.5 48.9 52.6 44.5 29.6 13.5 2.9

1986 ..................... 34.2 32.3 22.8 48.0 49.3 42.2 27.2 12.2 2.7

1985 ..................... 32.8 31.4 22.4 45.9 46.5 39.9 25.2 11.6 2.5

1984 ..................... 31.0 30.0 21.9 42.5 43.0 37.1 23.3 10.9 2.5

1983 ..................... 30.3 29.5 22.0 40.7 41.8 35.5 22.4 10.2 2.6

1982 ..................... 30.0 28.7 21.5 39.6 41.5 35.1 21.9 10.0 2.7

1981 ..................... 29.5 27.9 20.9 39.0 41.1 34.5 20.8 9.8 2.6

1980 ..................... 29.4 27.6 20.6 39.0 40.9 34.0 21.1 9.7 2.6

Estimated4

1980 ..................... 28.4 27.5 20.7 38.7 39.7 31.4 18.5 8.4 2.3

1979 ..................... 27.2 26.4 19.9 37.2 37.7 29.9 17.7 8.4 2.3

1978 ..................... 25.7 24.9 19.1 35.1 35.3 28.5 16.9 8.2 2.2

1977 ..................... 25.6 25.1 19.8 34.6 34.0 27.7 16.9 8.4 2.4

1976 ..................... 24.3 23.7 19.0 32.1 31.7 26.8 17.5 9.0 2.5

1975 ..................... 24.5 23.9 19.3 32.5 31.2 27.5 17.9 9.1 2.6

1974 ..................... 23.9 23.0 18.8 31.2 30.5 27.9 18.4 10.0 2.6

1973 ..................... 24.3 22.7 18.7 30.4 31.5 29.6 20.3 10.8 3.0

1972 ..................... 24.8 22.8 18.5 30.9 33.2 30.8 22.6 12.0 3.1

1971 ..................... 25.5 22.3 17.5 31.7 35.5 34.5 25.2 13.3 3.5

1970 ..................... 26.4 22.4 17.1 32.9 38.4 37.0 27.1 13.6 3.5

1969 ..................... 24.8 20.4 15.2 30.8 37.3 37.9 27.0 13.5 3.6

1968 ..................... 24.3 19.7 14.7 29.6 37.2 38.3 27.8 14.8 3.8

1967 ..................... 23.7 18.5 13.8 27.6 38.1 41.1 28.9 15.3 4.0

1966 ..................... 23.3 17.5 13.1 25.6 39.0 45.1 32.7 16.3 4.1

1965 ..................... 23.4 16.7 - - - - - - 39.6 49.1 37.2 17.4 4.5

1964 ..................... 23.0 15.9 - - - - - - 39.5 49.9 36.9 16.3 4.4

1963 ..................... 22.5 15.3 - - - - - - 39.9 48.8 33.1 16.1 4.3

1962 ..................... 21.9 14.8 - - - - - - 40.7 46.6 29.6 15.6 4.1

1961 ..................... 22.7 16.0 - - - - - - 41.4 46.4 28.2 15.4 3.9

1960 ..................... 21.6 15.3 - - - - - - 39.7 45.1 27.8 14.1 3.6

1959 ..................... 21.9 15.5 - - - - - - 40.2 44.1 28.1 14.1 3.3

1958 ..................... 21.2 15.3 - - - - - - 38.2 40.5 27.5 13.3 3.2

1957 ..................... 21.0 15.8 - - - - - - 37.3 36.8 26.8 12.1 3.1

1956 ..................... 20.4 15.6 - - - - - - 36.4 35.6 24.6 11.1 2.8

1955 ..................... 19.3 15.1 - - - - - - 33.5 33.5 22.0 10.5 2.7

1954 ..................... 18.7 14.9 - - - - - - 31.4 31.0 20.4 10.3 2.5

1953 ..................... 16.9 13.9 - - - - - - 28.0 27.6 17.3 9.0 2.4

1952 ..................... 15.8 13.5 - - - - - - 25.4 24.8 15.7 8.2 1.9

1951 ..................... 15.1 13.2 - - - - - - 23.2 22.8 14.6 7.6 2.2

1950 ..................... 14.1 12.6 - - - - - - 21.3 19.9 13.3 7.2 2.0

1949 ..................... 13.3 12.0 - - - - - - 21.0 18.0 11.4 6.8 1.9

1948 ..................... 12.5 11.4 - - - - - - 19.8 16.4 10.0 5.8 1.6

1947 ..................... 12.1 11.0 - - - - - - 18.9 15.7 9.2 5.6 1.8

1946 ..................... 10.9 9.5 - - - - - - 17.3 15.6 7.3 4.4 1.8

1945 ..................... 10.1 9.5 - - - - - - 15.3 12.1 7.1 4.1 1.6

1944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.0 8.8 - - - - - - 13.1 10.1 7.0 4.0 1.3

1943 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 8.4 - - - - - - 11.4 8.8 6.7 3.8 1.3

1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.0 8.2 - - - - - - 11.0 8.4 6.3 3.8 1.2

1941 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 8.0 - - - - - - 10.5 7.8 6.0 3.7 1.4

1940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 7.4 - - - - - - 9.5 7.2 5.1 3.4 1.2

See footnotes at end of table.

27
Table 1. Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother: United States, 1940–92, and by age of mother and race, 1940, 1950, and

1955–92—Con.

[Rates are live births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group]

Race and year

15–44

years1

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

White Reported/inferred3

Race of mother:

1992 ..................... 35.2 33.0 21.6 51.5 52.7 45.4 31.5 16.2 3.6

1991 ..................... 34.6 32.8 21.8 49.6 51.5 44.6 31.1 15.2 3.2

1990 ..................... 32.9 30.6 20.4 44.9 48.2 43.0 29.9 14.5 3.2

1989 ..................... 30.2 28.0 19.3 40.2 43.8 39.1 26.8 13.1 2.9

1988 ..................... 27.4 25.3 17.6 36.8 39.2 35.4 24.2 12.1 2.7

1987 ..................... 25.3 23.2 16.2 34.5 36.6 32.0 22.3 10.7 2.4

1986 ..................... 23.9 21.8 14.9 33.5 34.2 30.5 20.1 9.7 2.2

1985 ..................... 22.5 20.8 14.5 31.2 31.7 28.5 18.4 9.0 2.0

1984 ..................... 20.6 19.3 13.7 27.9 28.5 25.5 16.8 8.4 2.0

1983 ..................... 19.8 18.7 13.6 26.4 27.1 23.8 15.9 7.8 2.0

1982 ..................... 19.3 18.0 13.1 25.3 26.5 23.1 15.3 7.4 2.1

1981 ..................... 18.6 17.2 12.6 24.6 25.8 22.3 14.2 7.2 1.9

1980 ..................... 18.1 16.5 12.0 24.1 25.1 21.5 14.1 7.1 1.8

Race of child: Estimated4

1980 ..................... 16.2 15.9 11.7 22.8 22.4 17.3 10.5 5.3 1.4

1979 ..................... 14.9 14.6 10.8 21.0 20.3 15.9 10.0 5.1 1.4

1978 ..................... 13.7 13.6 10.3 19.3 18.1 14.8 9.4 4.8 1.3

1977 ..................... 13.5 13.4 10.5 18.7 17.4 14.4 9.3 4.9 1.4

1976 ..................... 12.6 12.3 9.7 16.9 15.8 14.0 10.1 5.5 1.4

1975 ..................... 12.4 12.0 9.6 16.5 15.5 14.8 9.8 5.4 1.5

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 11.0 8.8 15.3 15.0 14.7 9.5 5.5 1.5

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 10.6 8.4 14.9 15.5 15.9 10.6 5.9 1.7

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 10.4 8.0 15.1 16.6 16.5 12.1 6.5 1.6

1971 ..................... 12.5 10.3 7.4 15.8 18.7 18.5 13.2 7.2 1.9

1970 ..................... 13.9 10.9 7.5 17.6 22.5 21.1 14.2 7.6 2.0

1969 ..................... 13.4 9.9 6.6 16.6 23.0 22.5 15.1 7.6 2.0

35–44 years

1968 ..................... 13.1 9.7 6.2 16.6 23.0 22.1 15.0 4.7

1967 ..................... 12.5 8.9 5.6 15.3 23.0 22.7 14.0 4.7

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 8.5 5.4 14.1 22.6 23.4 15.7 4.9

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.6 7.9 - - - - - - 22.0 24.3 16.6 4.9

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0 7.4 - - - - - - 21.1 24.0 15.9 4.8

1963 ..................... 10.5 7.0 - - - - - - 20.7 21.9 14.2 4.6

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8 6.5 - - - - - - 19.9 19.8 12.6 4.3

1961 ..................... 10.0 7.1 - - - - - - 19.7 19.4 11.3 4.2

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 6.6 - - - - - - 18.2 18.2 10.8 3.9

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 6.5 - - - - - - 18.3 17.6 10.7 3.6

1958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8 6.3 - - - - - - 17.3 15.8 10.8 3.4

1957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 6.4 - - - - - - 16.6 14.6 10.5 3.0

1956 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 6.2 - - - - - - 16.3 14.0 9.2 3.0

1955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 6.0 - - - - - - 15.0 13.3 8.6 2.8

1950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 5.1 - - - - - - 10.0 8.7 5.9 2.0

1940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 3.3 - - - - - - 5.7 4.0 2.5 1.2

See footnotes at end of table.

28
Table 1. Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother: United States, 1940–92, and by age of mother and race, 1940, 1950, and

1955–92—Con.

[Rates are live births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group]

Race and year

15–44

years1

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

All other Reported/inferred3

Race of mother:

1992 ..................... 76.1 87.9 64.2 123.9 121.2 86.9 53.6 25.4 5.7

1991 ..................... 78.8 90.3 66.3 125.0 124.4 90.1 55.8 25.1 5.7

1990 ..................... 79.7 88.3 65.0 120.6 124.3 94.3 57.8 24.6 5.2

1989 ..................... 80.7 87.8 65.6 119.5 123.5 94.7 57.9 24.3 5.1

1988 ..................... 77.3 81.6 61.9 111.8 116.7 89.9 54.9 23.5 5.0

1987 ..................... 74.3 78.0 59.4 107.0 110.1 85.0 51.6 22.2 4.9

1986 ..................... 71.4 76.6 57.4 106.3 104.0 78.5 48.5 20.1 4.6

1985 ..................... 70.1 76.6 57.6 104.7 101.0 74.4 46.4 20.0 4.4

1984 ..................... 68.8 76.1 58.0 102.2 97.5 72.7 43.0 19.3 4.4

1983 ..................... 69.9 76.4 59.1 101.3 97.8 73.8 42.5 18.9 4.7

1982 ..................... 71.5 76.7 59.1 103.0 100.1 75.4 42.4 19.2 5.1

1981 ..................... 72.8 76.7 58.9 104.3 101.6 75.9 43.5 18.7 5.5

1980 ..................... 75.2 80.2 62.1 109.3 103.5 76.4 45.2 18.5 5.4

Race of child: Estimated4

1980 ..................... 78.0 83.0 64.0 113.4 108.2 79.1 46.2 18.5 5.3

1979 ..................... 78.2 83.9 64.8 115.3 107.1 77.7 44.8 19.1 5.7

1978 ..................... 76.5 81.2 63.2 111.6 104.9 76.4 43.6 18.2 5.6

1977 ..................... 77.4 84.0 67.2 112.7 103.1 74.4 43.7 18.5 6.6

1976 ..................... 76.4 82.5 67.5 108.9 101.1 74.0 43.4 18.7 6.9

1975 ..................... 79.0 86.3 70.7 114.3 102.1 73.2 47.9 20.0 6.9

1974 ..................... 80.3 87.3 73.2 113.4 103.0 77.0 50.9 23.2 6.6

1973 ..................... 83.2 88.5 75.6 112.8 107.8 81.0 55.8 26.2 7.2

1972 ..................... 86.2 91.8 77.6 119.3 112.4 83.3 55.7 29.0 8.2

1971 ..................... 90.2 92.0 75.4 125.4 120.6 92.6 65.3 32.2 10.4

1970 ..................... 89.9 90.8 73.3 126.5 121.0 93.8 69.8 32.0 10.7

1969 ..................... 84.8 84.2 67.3 118.9 115.4 93.9 69.0 33.3 10.4

35–44 years

1968 ..................... 85.1 82.1 66.2 115.4 116.4 100.0 75.8 24.6

1967 ..................... 88.3 80.0 64.1 114.5 126.2 113.5 92.1 28.4

1966 ..................... 92.1 77.4 61.2 113.3 137.0 138.0 113.3 33.3

1965 ..................... 97.4 77.1 - - - - - - 147.8 161.0 131.9 38.7

1964 ..................... 97.2 75.5 - - - - - - 158.2 164.9 127.0 34.4

1963 ..................... 97.2 75.3 - - - - - - 156.3 168.9 120.8 34.4

1962 ..................... 97.6 75.5 - - - - - - 158.5 171.3 113.2 35.5

1961 ..................... 101.0 78.8 - - - - - - 165.8 171.3 110.0 37.4

1960 ..................... 98.3 76.5 - - - - - - 166.5 171.8 104.0 35.6

1959 ..................... 100.8 80.8 - - - - - - 167.8 168.0 106.5 34.9

1958 ..................... 97.8 80.4 - - - - - - 153.2 161.2 110.5 32.5

1957 ..................... 95.3 81.4 - - - - - - 147.7 142.6 115.1 30.3

1956 ..................... 92.1 79.6 - - - - - - 143.5 132.7 113.7 27.0

1955 ..................... 87.2 77.6 - - - - - - 133.0 125.2 100.9 25.3

1950 ..................... 71.2 68.5 - - - - - - 105.4 94.2 63.5 20.0

1940 ..................... 35.6 42.5 - - - - - - 46.1 32.5 23.4 9.3

See footnotes at end of table.

29
Table 1. Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother: United States, 1940–92, and by age of mother and race, 1940, 1950, and

1955–92—Con.

[Rates are live births to unmarried women per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group]

Race and year

15–44

years1

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Black5 Reported/inferred3

Race of mother:

1992 ..................... 86.5 105.9 78.0 147.8 144.3 98.2 57.7 25.8 5.4

1991 ..................... 89.5 108.5 80.4 148.7 147.5 100.9 60.1 25.6 5.4

1990 ..................... 90.5 106.0 78.8 143.7 144.8 105.3 61.5 25.5 5.1

1989 ..................... 90.7 104.5 78.9 140.9 142.4 102.9 60.5 24.9 5.0

1988 ..................... 86.5 96.1 73.5 130.5 133.6 97.2 57.4 24.1 5.0

1987 ..................... 82.6 90.9 69.9 123.0 126.1 91.6 53.1 22.4 4.7

1986 ..................... 79.0 88.5 67.0 121.1 118.0 84.6 50.0 20.6 4.4

1985 ..................... 77.0 87.6 66.8 117.9 113.1 79.3 47.5 20.4 4.3

1984 ..................... 75.2 86.1 66.5 113.6 107.9 77.8 43.8 19.4 4.3

1983 ..................... 76.2 85.5 66.8 111.9 107.2 79.7 43.8 19.4 4.8

1982 ..................... 77.9 85.1 66.3 112.7 109.3 82.7 44.1 19.5 5.2

1981 ..................... 79.4 85.0 65.9 114.2 110.7 83.1 45.5 19.6 5.6

1980 ..................... 81.1 87.9 68.8 118.2 112.3 81.4 46.7 19.0 5.5

Race of child: Estimated4

1980 ..................... 83.2 90.3 70.6 121.8 116.0 82.9 47.0 18.5 5.5

1979 ..................... 83.0 91.0 71.0 123.3 114.1 80.0 44.8 19.3 5.9

1978 ..................... 81.1 87.9 68.8 119.6 111.4 79.6 43.9 18.5 6.2

1977 ..................... 82.6 90.9 73.0 121.7 110.1 78.6 45.7 19.0 6.6

1976 ..................... 81.6 89.7 73.5 117.9 107.2 78.0 45.0 19.2 7.0

1975 ..................... 84.2 93.5 76.8 123.8 108.0 75.7 50.0 20.5 7.2

1974 ..................... 85.5 93.8 78.6 122.2 109.8 80.3 51.8 24.3 6.7

1973 ..................... 88.6 94.9 81.2 120.5 116.0 84.5 57.8 27.6 7.7

1972 ..................... 91.6 98.2 82.8 128.2 121.2 88.3 57.4 30.4 8.5

1971 ..................... 96.1 98.6 80.7 135.2 130.6 99.6 68.6 32.7 10.1

1970 ..................... 95.5 96.9 77.9 136.4 131.5 100.9 71.8 32.9 10.4

1969 ..................... 90.6 90.3 72.0 128.4 125.3 99.5 70.1 34.3 10.1

NOTE: Rates for 1981–89 have been revised and differ, therefore, from rates published in Vital Statistics of the United States, Vol. I, Natality, for 1991 and earlier years; see Technical notes.

1Rates computed by relating births to unmarried women, regardless of age of mother, to unmarried women aged 15–44 years.

2Rates computed by relating births to unmarried women aged 40 and over to unmarried women aged 40–44 years. Rates by race for years prior to 1969 are computed by relating births to

unmarried women aged 35 years and over to unmarried women aged 35–44 years.

3Data for States in which marital status was not reported have been inferred from other items on the birth certificate and included with data from the reporting States; see Technical notes.

4Births to unmarried women are estimated for the United States from data for registration areas in which marital status of mother was reported; see Technical notes.

5Data also included in ‘‘all other’’ group.

30
Table 2. First birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of mother, United States, 1980–92

[Rates are first live births per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group]

Race and year

15–44

years1

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years2 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

All races3

1992 ..................... 21.6 33.8 25.9 46.4 30.8 15.9 8.7 4.0 0.9

1991 ..................... 21.7 34.1 26.4 45.7 30.9 15.9 8.7 3.9 0.8

1990 ..................... 21.2 32.5 25.3 42.6 29.5 15.9 8.7 3.8 0.7

1989 ..................... 20.5 31.0 24.7 39.8 27.7 15.0 8.3 3.5 0.7

1988 ..................... 19.2 28.4 22.9 36.9 25.5 13.9 7.7 3.3 0.6

1987 ..................... 18.4 26.7 21.5 35.4 24.6 13.0 7.3 3.0 0.6

1986 ..................... 17.7 25.7 20.1 34.9 23.5 12.3 6.6 2.7 0.5

1985 ..................... 17.2 25.0 19.7 33.5 22.2 11.6 6.1 2.4 0.4

1984 ..................... 16.4 23.9 19.3 31.0 20.5 10.7 5.6 2.2 0.4

1983 ..................... 16.2 23.6 19.4 29.9 19.8 10.1 5.2 2.0 0.3

1982 ..................... 16.3 22.9 18.9 29.0 19.8 10.1 5.0 1.8 0.3

1981 ..................... 16.3 22.4 18.4 28.7 19.7 10.0 4.6 1.6 0.3

1980 ..................... 16.6 22.3 18.3 28.8 19.8 9.7 4.6 1.5 0.3

White

1992 ..................... 18.4 27.0 19.4 39.2 26.9 14.3 8.3 4.0 0.9

1991 ..................... 18.4 27.0 19.6 38.1 26.6 14.2 8.2 3.8 0.8

1990 ..................... 17.6 25.2 18.4 34.7 24.9 13.9 8.1 3.8 0.7

1989 ..................... 16.4 23.3 17.5 31.4 22.6 12.7 7.5 3.5 0.7

1988 ..................... 15.1 21.2 16.0 28.9 20.3 11.6 7.0 3.2 0.6

1987 ..................... 14.2 19.7 14.9 27.4 19.4 10.8 6.6 2.9 0.5

1986 ..................... 13.6 18.5 13.7 26.7 18.4 10.3 6.0 2.6 0.5

1985 ..................... 13.0 17.7 13.4 24.9 17.2 9.7 5.5 2.3 0.4

1984 ..................... 12.0 16.4 12.6 22.3 15.4 8.7 5.0 2.1 0.3

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 16.0 12.6 21.2 14.7 8.1 4.6 1.8 0.3

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 15.5 12.1 20.4 14.7 8.1 4.4 1.7 0.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5 14.9 11.7 20.0 14.5 7.9 3.9 1.5 0.2

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 14.3 11.2 19.7 14.3 7.7 3.7 1.3 0.3

Black

1992 ..................... 34.9 70.5 61.5 84.2 51.2 22.3 9.9 3.6 0.7

1991 ..................... 36.4 72.6 63.3 85.9 53.0 22.5 10.2 3.7 0.8

1990 ..................... 37.4 71.9 62.3 84.9 52.3 23.9 10.5 3.6 0.7

1989 ..................... 38.7 72.6 63.4 85.8 52.4 23.7 10.5 3.6 0.7

1988 ..................... 37.6 67.9 59.8 80.3 50.2 22.5 9.8 3.5 0.7

1987 ..................... 36.8 65.3 57.6 77.0 48.9 21.3 9.3 3.2 0.6

1986 ..................... 35.9 64.2 55.7 76.9 47.1 19.6 8.6 2.9 0.5

1985 ..................... 35.6 63.8 55.5 75.8 45.2 18.3 7.9 2.8 0.5

1984 ..................... 35.3 63.0 55.4 73.6 43.3 17.7 7.4 2.6 0.5

1983 ..................... 36.0 62.9 55.8 73.0 42.2 17.5 7.1 2.5 0.4

1982 ..................... 36.9 62.4 55.2 72.8 42.7 17.9 7.1 2.3 0.4

1981 ..................... 38.4 62.4 55.0 73.7 43.4 18.2 7.1 2.2 0.5

1980 ..................... 40.1 65.3 58.1 76.8 44.6 17.3 7.3 2.0 0.4

1Rates computed by relating first births to unmarried women, regardless of age of mother, to unmarried women aged 15–44 years.

2Rates computed by relating first births to unmarried women aged 40 and over to unmarried women aged 40–44 years.

3Includes races other than white and black.

31
Table 3. Birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of mother: United States and each State, 1990

[Rates per 1,000 unmarried women residing in area for specified group]

State1 and

race of mother

15–44

years2

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

United States ............... 43.8 42.5 29.6 60.7 65.1 56.0 37.6 17.3 3.6

White ................... 32.9 30.6 20.4 44.9 48.2 43.0 29.9 14.5 3.2

Black ................... 90.5 106.0 78.8 143.7 144.8 105.3 61.5 25.5 5.1

Alabama................... 45.6 48.1 35.9 65.8 73.0 54.4 28.3 12.7 2.3

White ................... 19.6 21.0 15.7 28.6 29.2 24.4 12.9 5.6 *

Black ................... 86.3 101.0 75.9 136.0 145.5 92.1 46.4 21.3 4.6

Alaska ................... 56.7 45.5 25.0 84.2 104.1 83.0 49.6 24.0 4.7

White ................... 35.2 32.2 17.0 61.3 66.2 47.8 30.5 15.8 *

Black ................... 66.7 57.3 * 81.3 101.0 84.8 71.4 * *

Arizona ................... 57.5 57.8 41.2 81.5 88.6 74.2 45.4 20.6 4.4

White ................... 50.4 52.8 38.1 73.6 78.3 63.7 38.5 17.4 3.5

Black ................... 96.2 110.0 85.6 146.1 152.8 119.7 58.5 22.5 *

Arkansas .................. 50.2 52.5 37.8 76.0 85.8 59.2 29.6 11.4 2.8

White ................... 30.7 30.5 20.7 46.8 52.8 39.7 20.2 7.0 1.8

Black ................... 103.3 126.7 97.9 170.2 172.5 99.7 48.8 21.8 6.3

California .................. 56.4 49.7 34.4 71.4 81.3 74.7 57.2 29.5 7.2

White ................... 57.8 50.6 34.9 72.8 84.6 76.9 57.9 30.5 7.5

Black ................... 83.2 92.0 64.4 130.8 129.5 104.3 71.1 29.1 5.7

Colorado .................. 31.1 37.7 27.0 53.0 50.0 36.4 19.6 9.3 2.2

White ................... 28.2 34.7 24.8 48.8 44.9 32.6 18.0 8.7 2.0

Black ................... 77.7 96.8 70.4 135.1 140.0 85.5 42.8 18.1 *

Connecticut ................ 35.0 32.1 24.0 42.4 46.4 44.2 37.5 19.2 4.0

White ................... 26.8 23.3 17.2 31.0 34.8 33.7 31.0 18.0 3.9

Black ................... 85.2 100.2 77.6 128.2 128.2 98.3 66.2 23.4 *

Delaware .................. 41.5 44.2 34.5 55.2 59.5 49.7 29.4 15.0 *

White ................... 24.5 24.9 18.9 31.3 33.6 29.7 19.6 12.7 *

Black ................... 92.5 117.1 90.7 148.3 152.5 99.3 50.0 20.7 *

District of Columbia ........... 64.4 89.7 87.0 91.8 86.8 75.2 55.7 20.6 5.1

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 9.5 17.8 6.5 9.1 9.1 10.4 8.2 *

Black ................... 90.6 119.4 99.2 140.9 138.8 112.1 74.4 24.2 5.8

Florida ................... 48.8 52.1 37.6 72.9 74.7 58.7 40.5 18.8 5.0

White ................... 31.6 31.1 20.8 45.7 48.1 40.9 28.6 13.9 3.9

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111.7 131.8 100.5 177.0 175.5 120.7 78.8 35.8 9.6

Georgia ................... 50.2 55.7 40.2 78.2 82.8 55.9 32.9 12.6 2.2

White ................... 24.2 26.4 17.9 39.1 39.0 27.7 16.9 6.4 1.2

Black ................... 89.6 112.8 84.7 152.0 151.9 91.9 51.6 19.9 3.7

Hawaii ................... 42.5 46.5 29.2 73.4 67.8 48.7 30.9 16.0 3.5

White ................... 23.3 20.6 11.2 35.3 35.3 29.1 27.9 15.5 *

Black ................... 52.9 38.3 * * 103.0 47.2 * * *

Idaho .................... 31.4 26.2 17.1 40.8 56.7 46.6 25.6 13.2 3.5

White ................... 30.8 25.5 16.8 39.4 56.3 46.0 25.2 12.1 3.6

Black ................... * * * * * ** **

Illinois .................... 47.6 52.8 36.8 75.3 69.8 54.6 36.1 15.3 3.4

White ................... 29.1 31.0 19.9 46.5 42.4 33.8 22.6 9.9 2.6

Black ................... 109.8 143.8 106.5 196.4 181.8 116.7 68.2 28.5 5.8

Indiana ................... 38.5 41.7 29.5 58.2 60.9 45.2 23.4 9.3 1.8

White ................... 30.6 33.0 22.8 46.8 47.9 36.3 18.6 7.2 1.6

Black ................... 91.9 120.2 89.5 164.2 166.1 92.9 45.5 19.4 3.5

Iowa ..................... 31.3 29.7 17.8 45.5 48.3 42.0 23.1 8.2 1.6

White ................... 29.1 27.5 16.2 42.6 45.7 38.9 21.3 7.6 1.5

Black ................... 96.5 115.8 85.9 151.5 136.3 114.4 61.4 * *

Kansas ................... 36.3 37.9 24.7 57.0 58.7 42.1 23.5 8.4 2.0

White ................... 29.9 31.3 19.8 48.0 48.3 34.6 19.7 7.3 1.6

Black ................... 98.6 126.1 90.0 177.4 171.5 100.2 49.2 18.3 *

See footnotes at end of table.

32
Table 3. Birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of mother: United States and each State, 1990—Con.

[Rates per 1,000 unmarried women residing in area for specified group]

State1 and

race of mother

15–44

years2

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Kentucky .................. 35.8 38.3 25.9 57.1 61.3 40.9 20.8 8.5 1.8

White ................... 29.8 31.2 20.6 47.6 50.3 34.9 17.5 7.6 1.8

Black ................... 80.3 110.6 83.3 147.6 148.3 74.6 36.8 13.6 *

Louisiana .................. 56.7 57.5 42.9 78.9 90.6 68.2 39.7 17.8 3.2

White ................... 25.3 26.0 18.2 37.6 38.0 31.1 19.0 9.1 1.6

Black ................... 95.8 108.0 83.6 141.9 157.1 104.7 59.6 26.5 5.2

Maine .................... 31.5 32.8 20.3 50.2 51.7 39.9 21.1 8.4 *

White ................... 31.1 32.6 20.2 49.8 51.4 39.1 20.8 8.1 *

Black ................... 62.3 * * * * * * * *

Maryland .................. 41.8 43.6 29.5 62.3 62.5 50.6 34.6 13.6 2.3

White ................... 24.9 24.4 14.8 37.5 35.9 30.8 22.5 9.7 1.8

Black ................... 71.0 89.0 65.2 119.2 116.3 79.4 49.4 18.1 2.9

Massachusetts .............. 29.3 30.0 22.2 38.2 38.5 35.5 27.2 12.9 3.3

White ................... 23.7 25.5 18.8 32.8 31.5 27.6 20.5 9.7 2.5

Black ................... 92.5 86.9 64.6 112.9 127.8 120.3 88.4 40.0 10.9

Michigan .................. 37.1 40.7 28.7 57.1 54.8 44.4 27.3 11.5 1.9

White ................... 21.2 22.9 15.0 33.5 31.3 24.6 15.5 6.5 1.2

Black ................... 92.2 120.3 89.0 164.1 152.2 103.4 57.3 24.2 3.9

Minnesota ................. 30.3 29.8 18.2 45.4 44.9 37.5 24.0 10.4 2.6

White ................... 25.1 24.5 14.0 38.4 37.2 31.2 20.4 8.7 2.1

Black ................... 114.5 151.3 113.4 199.2 179.9 114.0 60.2 28.7 *

Mississippi ................. 62.0 62.6 48.2 82.8 101.2 71.5 37.7 15.8 3.1

White ................... 22.3 21.4 15.9 29.1 36.2 29.2 15.1 5.4 *

Black ................... 97.8 109.4 85.3 142.9 158.9 99.6 52.7 23.7 5.0

Missouri .................. 43.6 46.7 33.0 66.0 68.3 52.4 29.8 12.8 2.3

White ................... 29.1 31.1 20.4 46.1 44.4 35.5 20.1 8.6 1.6

Black ................... 109.4 142.2 110.9 185.5 187.9 114.3 61.5 26.8 5.4

Montana .................. 37.9 34.8 20.0 59.6 65.0 57.1 30.1 11.0 *

White ................... 27.4 26.0 15.3 43.8 47.9 38.6 22.2 7.8 *

Black ................... * * * * * * * * *

Nebraska .................. 33.2 31.7 20.2 47.8 52.9 41.5 23.4 9.3 2.2

White ................... 27.3 25.8 15.6 40.0 43.4 35.2 18.9 8.1 2.1

Black ................... 99.8 132.7 99.4 180.5 176.4 90.0 55.9 * *

Nevada ................... 43.7 45.2 30.6 67.7 72.1 57.5 37.8 14.1 2.7

White ................... 37.6 37.5 24.6 57.3 62.5 50.7 34.0 13.4 2.5

Black ................... 99.0 121.7 88.4 174.1 157.6 108.8 67.7 19.7 *

New Hampshire .............. 25.5 24.4 15.0 35.8 36.4 35.0 22.1 9.3 *

White ................... 25.5 24.5 15.0 36.1 36.7 34.9 22.3 9.1 *

Black ................... 40.9 * * * * * * * *

New Jersey ................ 33.9 33.6 21.8 50.2 47.0 42.6 30.5 13.6 3.4

White ................... 22.2 20.3 12.3 31.6 29.6 28.4 22.6 11.5 3.1

Black ................... 79.4 95.5 67.5 132.5 124.0 92.4 54.0 20.0 4.2

New Mexico ................ 59.6 58.5 39.2 90.2 101.8 76.4 42.8 21.9 5.2

White ................... 50.2 53.1 36.3 80.5 86.3 62.2 32.5 17.1 3.6

Black ................... 74.3 92.1 70.3 124.5 122.3 83.0 * * *

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.5 36.2 25.1 50.3 57.7 61.8 51.5 26.6 6.1

White ................... 33.8 27.6 18.3 39.2 44.1 46.3 39.0 20.8 4.9

Black ................... 81.5 73.1 52.9 100.6 114.1 109.0 84.5 41.9 9.4

North Carolina ............... 44.5 48.8 36.6 65.1 69.4 51.0 27.1 10.2 1.7

White ................... 22.8 25.6 19.7 33.5 33.4 25.5 15.1 5.9 1.2

Black ................... 85.3 102.7 76.3 137.4 141.3 91.0 44.2 16.6 2.6

North Dakota ............... 29.3 25.4 13.4 42.8 42.8 38.6 27.8 10.3 *

White ................... 21.9 19.3 9.7 33.0 32.4 28.6 19.8 6.3 *

Black ................... * * * * * * * * *

Ohio ..................... 40.8 44.9 29.5 66.2 63.9 48.1 26.8 10.6 1.7

White ................... 29.5 32.7 20.3 49.9 45.8 34.5 18.2 7.4 1.4

Black ................... 95.9 127.3 92.1 174.5 170.9 101.8 55.6 22.1 3.0

Oklahoma ................. 41.2 41.0 27.9 61.5 71.9 52.3 29.2 9.2 2.2

White ................... 31.2 31.6 21.2 47.8 53.3 41.8 21.4 7.2 1.9

Black ................... 91.8 109.0 78.9 149.6 164.1 88.6 56.5 15.7 *

Oregon ................... 38.5 38.9 25.5 59.2 63.3 54.5 31.3 11.8 2.3

White ................... 36.9 37.4 24.0 58.0 61.4 53.0 30.1 11.3 2.2

Black ................... 89.1 105.8 80.2 146.8 165.7 91.4 58.0 * *

See footnotes at end of table.

33
Table 3. Birth rates for unmarried women by age and race of mother: United States and each State, 1990—Con.

[Rates per 1,000 unmarried women residing in area for specified group]

State1 and

race of mother

15–44

years2

Age of mother

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40–44

years3 Total

15–17

years

18–19

years

Pennsylvania ............... 38.6 37.2 25.9 51.4 54.7 52.2 32.9 13.2 2.7

White ................... 27.2 26.4 17.3 37.9 39.0 35.5 22.7 9.7 2.2

Black ................... 103.3 124.3 95.0 161.6 164.1 127.4 71.9 27.3 4.7

Rhode Island ............... 33.3 36.3 28.8 43.8 45.0 42.7 24.0 11.4 2.0

White ................... 27.6 30.8 24.0 37.5 36.9 35.2 19.0 9.7 *

Black ................... 104.0 117.2 94.5 143.5 161.8 112.8 72.1 32.0 *

South Carolina .............. 50.6 53.6 39.1 73.2 79.0 58.3 33.0 13.7 2.2

White ................... 24.3 26.8 19.5 36.6 35.1 28.7 15.9 7.1 1.1

Black ................... 86.5 96.7 70.4 133.2 142.6 91.5 51.2 21.1 3.6

South Dakota ............... 39.8 33.7 20.3 53.8 61.7 56.1 36.4 14.7 *

White ................... 24.1 21.8 12.8 34.8 38.0 31.6 19.8 7.6 *

Black ................... * * * * * ** **

Tennessee ................. 44.8 47.6 33.4 68.4 75.6 52.2 30.0 12.0 2.4

White ................... 27.3 28.6 19.0 43.1 46.6 32.6 17.4 7.0 1.6

Black ................... 94.0 118.3 90.1 155.9 157.8 95.8 56.4 23.0 4.8

Texas .................... 31.4 32.6 23.9 46.0 50.3 36.7 21.3 9.6 2.1

White ................... 24.1 23.7 17.1 33.8 38.1 29.7 18.0 8.4 2.0

Black ................... 67.0 87.7 66.7 117.8 113.0 65.7 33.6 14.0 2.4

Utah ..................... 29.7 25.1 17.1 37.6 46.3 43.1 27.4 10.0 3.0

White ................... 27.7 24.2 16.5 36.1 43.1 39.0 25.1 8.9 2.6

Black ................... 83.7 99.5 92.8 108.1 117.0 111.6 * * *

Vermont .................. 26.4 24.6 16.2 34.0 40.6 36.3 19.6 10.6 *

White ................... 26.6 24.6 16.3 34.1 40.8 36.6 19.9 10.7 *

Black ................... * * * * * ** **

Virginia ................... 38.3 37.9 26.2 53.2 57.4 47.9 30.0 12.6 2.5

White ................... 22.9 21.9 13.8 32.8 33.6 29.0 19.7 9.0 1.8

Black ................... 81.9 93.6 70.7 121.6 131.9 94.4 51.4 20.5 3.7

Washington ................ 36.6 37.9 24.9 56.6 58.8 47.3 29.1 12.0 2.4

White ................... 34.1 35.9 23.2 54.5 55.2 44.5 27.0 10.6 2.2

Black ................... 72.0 85.3 61.5 118.9 125.9 79.1 43.5 21.8 *

West Virginia ............... 34.2 33.3 22.6 49.5 58.3 45.4 22.6 8.7 2.2

White ................... 32.6 32.1 21.9 47.6 55.5 42.9 21.5 7.8 2.1

Black ................... 67.0 70.9 46.6 101.1 121.4 80.2 36.4 20.1 *

Wisconsin ................. 33.9 34.9 21.9 52.2 49.1 41.3 24.6 10.7 2.1

White ................... 24.2 23.6 13.1 37.5 35.2 30.7 19.0 8.4 1.7

Black ................... 122.7 174.5 124.8 246.5 209.2 117.0 56.5 24.8 *

Wyoming .................. 34.1 33.9 21.7 55.5 61.9 44.5 23.3 6.6 *

White ................... 31.6 32.4 20.6 53.2 57.2 40.5 20.1 5.9 *

Black ................... 63.0 * * * * ** **

1Totals for areas include races other than white and black.

2Rates computed by relating total births to unmarried mothers, regardless of age of mother, to unmarried women aged 15–44 years.

3Rates computed by relating total births to unmarried mothers aged 40 years and over to unmarried women 40–44 years.

34
unmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92

Age of mother

All

ages

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Reported/inferred1

.. 1,224,876 11,161 353,878 25,459 49,021 74,103 96,009 109,286 435,727 233,467 127,982 52,447 10,214.. 1,213,769 10,968 357,483 25,083 49,049 74,039 98,118 111,194 429,094 234,593 123,901 48,353 9,377.. 1,165,384 10,675 349,970 24,068 46,309 72,021 95,961 111,611 403,873 229,991 118,200 44,149 8,526.. 1,094,169 10,612 337,268 23,358 46,194 71,134 94,815 101,767 378,122 215,477 106,344 39,030 7,316.. 1,005,299 9,907 312,499 22,456 44,101 69,580 85,659 90,703 350,905 196,365 94,874 34,408 6,341.. 933,013 9,583 292,958 22,005 44,515 64,220 78,338 83,880 331,257 179,257 84,186 30,271 5,501.. 878,477 9,415 280,720 22,248 41,625 59,618 75,493 81,736 316,188 165,662 74,928 26,967 4,597.. 828,174 9,386 270,922 20,930 39,630 58,371 72,934 79,057 300,365 152,024 67,315 24,038 4,124.. 770,355 9,075 261,104 19,945 38,763 56,647 70,175 75,574 279,192 136,956 59,261 20,916 3,851.. 737,893 8,816 261,260 20,078 39,356 57,191 70,716 73,919 265,579 126,519 53,884 18,206 3,629

.. 715,227 8,720 260,626 20,142 39,750 57,804 70,496 72,434 257,473 118,954 49,559 16,420 3,475.. 686,605 8,589 259,239 20,554 40,173 57,881 69,056 71,575 246,919 109,174 45,300 14,281 3,103.. 665,747 9,024 262,777 21,908 41,386 58,606 69,173 71,704 237,265 99,583 40,984 13,187 2,927

Estimated2

.. 643,400 9,200 262,400 22,200 41,700 58,800 68,800 70,900 229,900 91,900 36,000 11,400 2,600.. 597,800 9,500 253,200 21,800 41,300 56,900 66,400 66,600 210,100 80,600 31,300 10,600 2,500.. 543,900 9,400 239,700 21,400 40,200 54,900 62,200 61,000 186,500 70,000 26,500 9,400 2,300.. 515,700 10,100 239,700 23,000 42,400 55,500 60,800 57,900 168,600 62,400 23,700 8,800 2,300.. 468,100 10,300 225,000 22,900 41,700 51,900 55,900 52,600 145,400 55,400 21,000 8,600 2,300

.. 447,900 11,000 222,500 23,800 41,400 51,600 55,600 50,200 134,000 50,200 19,800 8,100 2,300.. 418,100 10,600 210,800 23,100 40,100 49,800 51,500 46,200 122,700 44,900 18,600 8,200 2,300.. 407,300 10,900 204,900 23,000 39,600 48,700 49,100 44,400 119,100 43,100 18,500 8,200 2,600.. 403,200 9,900 202,300 22,500 38,400 47,600 49,200 44,500 119,600 41,200 19,000 8,600 2,700

.. 401,400 9,500 194,100 20,400 35,500 44,900 47,800 45,400 125,200 40,900 19,300 9,400 3,000.. 398,700 9,500 190,400 19,300 34,000 42,800 47,500 46,800 126,700 40,600 19,100 9,400 3,000.. 360,800 8,300 168,200 16,700 29,100 37,500 42,400 42,500 116,900 37,600 17,700 9,200 3,100.. 339,200 7,700 158,000 15,400 27,000 35,500 39,500 40,700 107,900 35,200 17,200 9,700 3,300.. 318,100 6,900 144,400 13,600 24,900 32,400 36,100 37,400 101,600 34,500 17,300 10,100 3,300

.. 302,400 6,200 135,800 12,900 23,000 30,000 34,000 35,800 92,500 35,500 18,400 10,500 3,400.. 291,200 6,100 123,200 12,200 21,200 28,400 32,700 28,700 90,700 36,800 19,600 11,400 3,700.. 275,700 5,800 111,400 11,300 20,200 27,200 25,800 26,900 87,900 36,400 19,500 11,100 3,600.. 259,400 5,400 101,800 10,700 18,600 21,700 24,900 25,800 82,600 35,400 19,800 10,900 3,500

.. 245,100 5,100 94,400 10,100 15,500 20,600 23,600 24,700 77,400 34,000 19,800 11,100 3,300.. 240,200 5,200 93,200 9,000 15,500 20,500 24,600 23,500 74,000 33,700 19,800 11,100 3,200.. 224,300 4,600 87,100 8,700 15,100 19,900 21,800 21,600 68,000 32,100 18,900 10,600 3,000.. 220,600 4,600 84,500 8,800 15,200 19,100 20,900 20,600 67,300 32,000 19,000 10,500 2,800.. 208,700 4,400 79,400 8,400 13,900 17,800 19,700 19,600 62,800 30,800 18,700 9,900 2,700

.. 201,700 4,600 76,400 8,200 13,900 17,300 19,000 18,100 60,500 29,800 18,200 9,400 2,800.. 193,500 4,200 72,800 7,500 13,200 16,200 18,400 17,500 58,800 29,400 17,000 8,800 2,500.. 183,300 3,900 68,900 7,200 11,900 15,700 17,200 17,100 55,700 28,000 16,100 8,300 2,400
unmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

Age of mother

All

ages

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 176,600 3,900 67,200 33,600 33,500 53,300 26,600 15,500 7,900 2,200.. 160,800 3,400 61,500 30,900 30,600 48,800 24,500 13,400 7,000 2,100.. 150,300 3,200 58,700 30,700 28,000 45,500 22,400 12,400 6,500 1,600.. 146,500 3,200 57,400 29,200 28,300 43,900 22,000 11,900 6,200 1,900.. 141,600 3,200 56,000 28,700 27,400 43,100 20,900 10,800 6,000 1,700.. 89,500 2,100 40,500 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27,200 10,500 5,200 3,000 1,000

Reported/inferred1

.. 721,986 4,553 206,830 12,664 27,323 43,861 57,566 65,416 258,268 137,639 75,696 32,218 6,782.. 707,502 4,346 207,035 12,615 27,150 43,058 58,132 66,080 251,228 136,727 72,484 29,607 6,075.. 669,698 4,157 199,896 11,625 25,063 41,398 56,195 65,615 232,529 131,967 68,400 27,050 5,699.. 613,543 3,920 188,253 10,904 24,094 40,110 54,599 58,546 211,815 120,640 60,344 23,730 4,841.. 557,394 3,595 173,981 10,369 23,183 39,087 49,166 52,176 192,584 108,787 53,498 20,812 4,137.. 513,984 3,466 162,039 10,238 23,672 36,208 44,907 47,014 180,698 98,554 47,424 18,195 3,608.. 480,533 3,420 153,605 10,414 21,729 33,510 42,393 45,559 172,014 90,379 41,848 16,323 2,944.. 445,595 3,430 145,457 9,758 20,796 32,119 39,933 42,851 161,046 81,628 37,235 14,242 2,557.. 403,022 3,258 136,065 9,188 19,640 30,294 37,158 39,785 145,873 71,057 32,102 12,329 2,338.. 381,276 3,269 134,966 9,247 19,710 30,126 37,292 38,591 136,349 64,850 28,968 10,700 2,174.. 365,647 3,270 133,457 9,010 19,805 30,108 36,749 37,785 130,731 60,411 26,191 9,508 2,079.. 346,541 3,090 131,452 9,135 19,792 29,907 35,847 36,771 123,602 54,650 23,909 8,112 1,726.. 328,984 3,166 130,417 9,356 19,916 29,433 35,088 36,624 116,445 48,722 21,325 7,298 1,611

Estimated2

.. 294,200 3,200 125,500 9,300 19,600 28,600 33,500 34,500 103,600 39,200 15,900 5,500 1,200.. 263,000 3,300 116,400 9,000 18,600 26,700 31,300 30,800 90,200 33,200 13,700 4,900 1,200.. 233,600 3,300 108,500 8,900 18,200 25,400 28,300 27,600 77,000 28,300 11,400 4,200 1,100.. 220,100 3,400 107,100 9,500 18,900 25,400 27,500 25,700 69,300 25,200 10,200 3,800 1,100.. 197,100 3,500 97,600 9,200 17,900 22,900 24,600 23,000 58,900 22,800 9,400 3,900 1,000.. 186,400 3,600 93,900 9,500 17,400 22,000 23,600 21,400 54,500 21,200 8,600 3,600 1,000.. 168,500 3,300 85,000 8,600 16,100 20,100 21,000 19,200 49,600 18,600 7,600 3,400 1,000.. 163,000 3,200 81,100 8,100 15,200 19,100 20,300 18,400 48,300 18,300 7,600 3,400 1,100.. 160,500 2,700 78,600 7,500 13,800 18,600 19,600 19,100 49,500 17,300 7,700 3,500 1,100.. 163,800 2,500 76,000 6,500 12,400 17,300 20,000 19,900 55,300 17,200 7,800 3,800 1,300.. 175,100 2,500 79,300 6,100 12,600 17,500 21,100 22,100 62,100 18,000 7,700 4,000 1,400.. 163,700 2,100 70,400 5,000 10,700 15,100 18,500 21,000 60,700 17,500 7,700 4,000 1,400.. 155,200 1,900 67,400 4,500 9,700 14,200 17,800 21,100 56,800 16,100 7,300 4,200 1,500.. 142,200 1,700 60,300 3,700 8,200 12,900 16,300 19,200 52,500 15,200 6,800 4,200 1,500.. 132,900 1,400 57,500 3,600 7,800 12,000 15,200 18,900 45,800 14,900 7,300 4,500 1,500.. 123,700 1,400 50,700 3,300 7,100 11,100 15,200 14,000 43,400 14,900 7,200 4,500 1,600.. 114,300 1,400 45,200 3,200 6,900 11,500 11,000 12,600 40,600 14,300 6,800 4,400 1,600.. 104,600 1,300 40,700 3,300 6,800 8,300 10,400 12,000 36,800 13,000 7,000 4,200 1,500.. 94,700 1,300 36,700 3,000 5,100 7,700 9,800 11,100 32,300 11,900 7,000 4,100 1,400

.. 91,100 1,400 36,100 2,700 5,200 7,600 10,300 10,400 29,900 11,600 6,600 4,100 1,400
unmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

Age of mother

All

ages

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Estimated2

.. 82,500 1,200 32,800 2,600 5,100 7,400 8,800 9,000 26,700 10,700 6,000 3,900 1,300

.. 79,600 1,200 30,900 2,500 5,100 6,800 8,000 8,500 26,200 10,500 5,900 3,700 1,100

.. 74,600 1,200 28,500 2,400 4,400 6,300 7,300 8,000 24,100 10,000 6,100 3,500 1,100

.. 70,800 1,100 26,900 2,200 4,300 6,000 7,300 7,100 22,700 9,800 6,000 3,100 1,200

.. 67,500 1,000 25,200 1,900 3,900 5,600 6,900 7,000 22,200 9,500 5,400 3,200 1,100

.. 64,200 900 23,700 1,800 3,600 5,200 6,300 6,800 21,000 9,100 5,400 3,000 1,000

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 62,700 800 23,200 10,200 13,000 20,600 8,900 5,200 3,000 1,000

.. 56,600 800 20,700 9,100 11,600 19,000 8,200 4,700 2,600 800

.. 54,100 700 19,600 8,800 10,800 18,500 7,700 4,300 2,600 700

.. 52,600 600 19,700 8,900 10,900 17,300 7,800 4,200 2,300 800

.. 53,500 700 19,900 8,700 11,100 17,800 7,900 4,200 2,300 700

.. 40,300 500 16,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14,700 5,200 2,200 1,300 500

Reported/inferred1

.. 502,890 6,608 147,048 12,795 21,698 30,242 38,443 43,870 177,459 95,828 52,286 20,229 3,432.. 506,267 6,622 150,448 12,468 21,899 30,981 39,986 45,114 177,866 97,866 51,417 18,746 3,302.. 495,686 6,518 150,074 12,443 21,246 30,623 39,766 45,996 171,344 98,024 49,800 17,099 2,827.. 480,626 6,692 149,015 12,454 22,100 31,024 40,216 43,221 166,307 94,837 46,000 15,300 2,475.. 447,905 6,312 138,518 12,087 20,918 30,493 36,493 38,527 158,321 87,578 41,376 13,596 2,204.. 419,029 6,117 130,919 11,767 20,843 28,012 33,431 36,866 150,559 80,703 36,762 12,076 1,893.. 397,944 5,995 127,115 11,834 19,896 26,108 33,100 36,177 144,174 75,283 33,080 10,644 1,653.. 382,579 5,956 125,465 11,172 18,834 26,252 33,001 36,206 139,319 70,396 30,080 9,796 1,567.. 367,333 5,817 125,039 10,757 19,123 26,353 33,017 35,789 133,319 65,899 27,159 8,587 1,513.. 356,617 5,547 126,294 10,831 19,646 27,065 33,424 35,328 129,230 61,669 24,916 7,506 1,455.. 349,580 5,450 127,169 11,132 19,945 27,696 33,747 34,649 126,742 58,543 23,368 6,912 1,396.. 340,064 5,499 127,787 11,419 20,381 27,974 33,209 34,804 123,317 54,524 21,391 6,169 1,377.. 336,763 5,858 132,360 12,552 21,470 29,173 34,085 35,080 120,820 50,861 19,659 5,889 1,316

Estimated2

.. 349,300 6,000 136,900 12,800 22,100 30,200 35,300 36,400 126,300 52,700 20,100 5,900 1,300.. 334,800 6,200 136,700 12,800 22,800 30,300 35,100 35,800 119,900 47,400 17,600 5,700 1,300.. 310,200 6,100 131,200 12,500 22,100 29,400 33,900 33,400 109,500 41,800 15,200 5,200 1,200.. 295,500 6,700 132,600 13,400 23,500 30,200 33,300 32,200 99,200 37,200 13,500 5,000 1,300.. 271,000 6,800 127,400 13,700 23,800 29,000 31,300 29,600 86,500 32,700 11,600 4,700 1,300.. 261,600 7,500 128,600 14,300 24,000 29,600 31,900 28,800 79,500 29,000 11,200 4,500 1,300.. 249,600 7,300 125,700 14,600 24,000 29,700 30,500 27,000 73,200 26,400 11,000 4,700 1,300.. 244,300 7,700 123,800 15,000 24,400 29,600 28,800 26,000 70,800 24,800 11,000 4,800 1,400.. 242,700 7,200 123,600 14,900 24,600 29,000 29,600 25,500 70,000 23,900 11,200 5,100 1,500.. 237,500 7,100 118,100 13,900 23,200 27,600 27,900 25,600 69,800 23,700 11,500 5,600 1,700.. 223,600 7,000 111,100 13,200 21,500 25,300 26,400 24,700 64,600 22,600 11,300 5,400 1,700
unmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

Age of mother

All

ages

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Estimated2

.. 197,200 6,200 97,800 11,700 18,400 22,400 23,900 21,500 56,200 20,100 10,000 5,200 1,700.. 183,900 5,800 90,600 10,900 17,300 21,300 21,700 19,500 51,100 19,100 10,000 5,500 1,800.. 175,800 5,200 84,000 9,900 16,700 19,500 19,800 18,200 49,100 19,300 10,500 5,900 1,700.. 169,500 4,800 78,300 9,300 15,200 18,000 18,800 17,000 46,700 20,700 11,100 6,100 1,900.. 167,500 4,600 72,400 8,900 14,100 17,200 17,500 14,700 47,300 21,900 12,400 6,900 2,000.. 161,300 4,400 66,200 8,100 13,300 15,800 14,800 14,300 47,300 22,100 12,700 6,700 1,900.. 154,900 4,200 61,000 7,500 11,800 13,400 14,500 13,800 45,800 22,300 12,800 6,700 2,000.. 150,400 3,900 57,600 7,100 10,400 12,900 13,800 13,500 45,000 22,100 12,900 7,100 1,800.. 149,100 3,800 57,100 6,400 10,300 12,900 14,400 13,100 44,100 22,100 13,100 7,000 1,900.. 141,800 3,500 54,300 6,100 10,000 12,600 13,100 12,600 41,300 21,300 12,900 6,700 1,700.. 141,100 3,400 53,600 6,300 10,100 12,300 12,900 12,100 41,100 21,500 13,100 6,700 1,700.. 134,100 3,300 50,900 6,000 9,400 11,500 12,400 11,600 38,600 20,800 12,600 6,300 1,600.. 130,900 3,500 49,600 6,000 9,600 11,200 11,700 11,000 37,800 20,100 12,200 6,300 1,600.. 126,000 3,200 47,600 5,600 9,300 10,700 11,600 10,400 36,600 19,900 11,600 5,600 1,500.. 119,200 3,000 45,300 5,400 8,300 10,500 10,900 10,300 34,700 18,900 10,700 5,300 1,400

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 113,900 3,100 44,000 23,400 20,600 32,700 17,700 10,300 4,900 1,200.. 104,200 2,700 40,800 21,800 19,000 29,900 16,300 8,700 4,400 1,300.. 96,200 2,600 39,000 21,800 17,200 27,000 14,700 8,000 3,900 900

.. 93,900 2,600 37,700 20,300 17,400 26,600 14,200 7,700 4,000 1,200

.. 88,100 2,500 36,100 19,900 16,200 25,300 13,000 6,600 3,600 1,000

.. 49,200 1,600 24,500 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12,500 5,300 2,900 1,700 600

Reported/inferred1

.. 458,969 6,296 135,994 12,059 20,158 27,985 35,422 40,370 162,561 86,853 46,860 17,608 2,797.. 463,750 6,298 139,325 11,701 20,402 28,714 36,902 41,606 163,532 89,198 46,370 16,357 2,670.. 455,304 6,240 139,442 11,732 19,894 28,476 36,875 42,465 157,819 89,614 44,930 14,946 2,313.. 442,395 6,458 138,718 11,797 20,735 28,840 37,398 39,948 153,551 86,846 41,468 13,333 2,021.. 413,157 6,057 129,333 11,498 19,680 28,470 33,914 35,771 146,697 80,125 37,290 11,833 1,822.. 387,468 5,861 122,502 11,188 19,722 26,134 31,207 34,251 139,771 74,133 33,112 10,511 1,578.. 369,786 5,762 119,357 11,310 18,749 24,499 31,022 33,777 134,380 69,623 29,892 9,387 1,385.. 356,205 5,753 118,058 10,653 17,881 24,695 30,867 33,962 130,032 65,126 27,262 8,650 1,324.. 342,524 5,599 117,844 10,285 18,179 24,842 31,026 33,512 124,541 61,091 24,580 7,579 1,290.. 333,183 5,324 119,216 10,383 18,636 25,527 31,542 33,128 120,905 57,122 22,586 6,735 1,295.. 327,998 5,272 120,243 10,685 19,015 26,218 31,796 32,529 119,133 54,500 21,366 6,229 1,255.. 321,383 5,323 121,738 11,016 19,543 26,662 31,553 32,964 116,568 51,170 19,712 5,633 1,239.. 318,799 5,691 126,276 12,137 20,602 27,809 32,457 33,271 114,538 47,594 18,160 5,338 1,202
unmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

Age of mother

All

ages

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Estimated2

.. 327,000 5,800 129,700 12,400 21,100 28,600 33,400 34,200 118,300 48,500 18,300 5,200 1,200.. 315,800 6,100 130,100 12,300 21,800 28,800 33,200 33,900 113,100 44,000 16,100 5,200 1,200.. 293,400 5,900 125,200 12,000 21,100 28,100 32,300 31,700 103,500 38,900 14,000 4,800 1,200.. 281,600 6,500 127,200 12,900 22,600 28,900 31,900 30,800 94,600 35,000 12,600 4,700 1,200.. 258,800 6,600 122,700 13,200 22,900 28,000 30,200 28,400 82,400 30,800 10,700 4,400 1,200.. 249,600 7,200 123,800 13,800 23,200 28,500 30,600 27,600 75,600 27,100 10,500 4,200 1,200.. 238,800 7,100 121,200 14,200 23,300 28,600 29,300 25,900 69,700 24,900 10,200 4,400 1,200.. 234,500 7,500 119,800 14,600 23,700 28,700 27,900 25,000 67,500 23,400 10,400 4,500 1,400.. 233,300 7,100 119,900 14,600 23,900 28,100 28,700 24,500 67,000 22,600 10,500 4,800 1,500.. 229,000 6,900 114,900 13,600 22,600 26,900 27,000 24,800 67,000 22,400 10,900 5,300 1,500.. 215,100 6,800 107,800 13,000 20,900 24,500 25,600 23,900 61,800 21,300 10,700 5,100 1,600.. 189,400 6,100 95,000 11,500 17,900 21,800 23,200 20,700 53,500 18,900 9,400 4,900 1,600

as not reported have been inferred from other items on the birth certificate and included with data from the reporting States; see Technical notes.

d for the United States from data for registration areas in which marital status of mother was reported; see Technical notes.

imated totals for years prior to 1980 because of rounding.
nmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92

women per 1,000 total live births in specified group]

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Reported/inferred1

.. 301.3 913.3 700.2 869.9 815.2 755.0 692.4 609.8 407.0 198.0 143.0 152.2 177.0

.. 295.3 912.9 688.0 870.6 810.6 748.6 681.2 593.6 393.8 192.3 140.0 146.1 174.3

.. 280.3 915.8 670.7 868.8 799.8 737.0 661.9 576.7 369.3 180.1 133.4 139.0 169.7

.. 270.8 923.9 665.9 873.8 806.5 733.1 656.8 561.9 350.9 170.6 126.2 132.8 159.0

.. 257.1 935.7 653.3 877.0 799.7 725.8 642.3 538.7 328.7 158.5 118.1 127.7 155.5

.. 244.9 929.4 633.7 867.0 789.8 706.9 615.3 516.5 307.9 147.4 110.7 122.1 152.1

.. 233.9 925.2 607.7 857.3 767.7 674.4 590.7 493.8 286.9 138.1 103.9 117.1 147.8

.. 220.2 918.4 579.5 837.1 741.1 653.6 562.9 464.7 263.2 126.5 96.7 112.2 139.8

.. 210.0 910.7 555.9 826.2 728.9 633.5 539.1 437.4 244.6 117.5 90.0 106.8 137.8

.. 202.8 904.0 534.0 813.3 715.6 615.0 516.5 411.4 228.9 110.2 86.3 100.9 134.2

.. 194.3 892.3 507.3 802.8 693.1 585.5 486.4 386.0 213.5 103.3 81.9 97.8 134.2

.. 189.2 891.7 491.5 791.7 674.0 568.4 469.7 370.9 203.7 96.8 77.9 97.8 126.6

.. 184.3 887.4 475.9 777.5 654.9 548.5 451.1 357.4 193.5 89.9 74.5 93.7 120.5

Estimated2

.. 178.1 904.7 475.2 787.8 659.8 550.3 448.7 353.4 187.5 82.9 65.4 81.0 107.0

.. 171.1 887.9 460.8 768.2 645.9 527.8 433.2 339.7 176.8 75.4 60.5 78.5 103.2

.. 163.2 872.6 441.1 741.4 619.2 504.2 410.4 322.4 163.7 69.0 55.9 74.5 96.3

.. 155.0 881.7 428.7 743.0 605.3 492.1 396.0 301.8 147.1 61.4 53.0 72.8 90.3

.. 147.8 863.5 402.7 719.0 585.6 461.6 363.5 277.6 133.2 57.0 53.6 74.4 89.1

.. 142.5 870.1 382.1 711.5 558.4 431.1 342.6 260.5 122.5 53.6 52.7 70.2 82.3

.. 132.3 846.0 354.0 685.1 528.3 399.8 312.9 234.9 110.7 48.6 49.9 69.4 77.7

.. 129.8 847.5 339.2 661.8 508.4 387.2 293.1 224.0 108.2 48.5 50.0 64.7 76.9

.. 123.7 819.4 328.3 666.9 500.6 377.2 284.7 215.2 101.9 45.8 50.7 60.9 69.0

. . 112.9 820.5 309.1 655.6 491.2 365.3 270.8 201.7 92.4 43.2 47.5 57.8 65.7

.. 106.9 808.4 295.3 648.3 476.0 349.7 259.8 196.4 89.3 40.8 44.6 52.2 56.5

.. 100.2 792.9 278.2 627.8 461.1 334.6 245.0 184.9 86.2 39.3 41.8 48.5 53.5

. . 96.9 810.2 267.2 624.5 452.8 326.6 235.9 176.3 82.6 38.9 41.0 47.1 51.4

. . 90.3 803.0 242.1 597.0 425.7 302.9 213.6 156.3 77.5 39.8 39.4 44.4 46.3

. . 83.9 762.8 218.5 577.9 406.1 278.4 191.9 139.0 71.3 40.7 38.8 41.6 43.1

. . 77.4 785.3 208.3 563.6 374.1 257.5 175.5 132.9 67.8 39.8 37.0 40.3 42.9

. . 68.5 742.1 190.2 529.9 349.2 232.4 160.6 117.5 61.1 36.1 33.3 35.8 39.0

. . 63.3 711.1 173.6 501.8 315.4 216.4 152.7 106.3 56.8 34.6 32.4 33.8 37.3

. . 58.8 694.8 157.3 469.5 306.1 204.6 138.2 96.2 53.6 32.5 31.0 33.2 34.2

. . 56.3 696.9 154.9 465.9 291.8 194.4 136.1 96.7 51.2 31.2 29.2 31.2 32.2

. . 52.7 678.5 148.4 443.9 281.3 182.4 129.2 91.6 47.7 29.4 27.5 29.5 31.0

. . 52.0 678.9 148.0 437.2 275.3 186.4 126.9 90.1 47.9 29.1 27.1 28.9 29.5

. . 49.6 661.9 143.3 426.2 269.1 177.3 123.5 87.9 45.9 27.8 26.3 27.6 28.8

. . 47.4 660.9 138.9 426.1 268.1 173.7 120.0 81.8 44.4 26.1 24.9 25.7 29.1

. . 46.5 660.8 139.9 421.6 268.1 173.2 120.9 84.3 44.4 26.0 23.4 24.8 26.4

. . 45.3 662.9 142.3 427.7 265.1 178.4 124.4 87.2 43.7 25.0 22.3 24.0 25.9
nmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

women per 1,000 total live births in specified group]

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 44.0 643.8 140.6 231.5 100.7 42.4 23.7 21.5 23.4 23.9

.. 41.2 639.6 134.9 223.0 96.4 40.0 22.1 19.4 21.5 23.8

.. 39.1 645.3 134.0 228.4 92.2 37.5 20.3 18.2 20.3 19.2

.. 39.1 638.0 129.4 217.6 91.2 36.6 20.5 18.6 20.3 23.0

.. 39.8 637.3 133.5 226.1 93.6 38.1 20.5 18.1 20.4 21.3

.. 37.9 644.8 134.7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36.8 16.3 13.0 14.9 15.0

Reported/inferred1

.. 225.5 848.3 603.5 793.2 733.4 669.0 600.0 511.0 317.1 142.7 101.5 114.0 146.0.. 218.3 837.5 587.6 795.9 726.7 656.4 584.4 492.8 302.2 136.7 98.4 108.6 141.2.. 203.5 835.7 563.9 785.4 707.1 640.0 559.3 471.8 277.6 125.5 92.5 103.3 140.8.. 192.2 846.7 552.9 786.2 705.9 629.3 549.8 452.3 257.0 115.9 85.8 97.9 130.9.. 179.7 865.0 537.3 785.9 696.0 618.1 532.0 428.8 234.5 106.0 79.6 94.0 126.5

.. 168.9 846.2 513.7 770.2 683.8 596.7 502.0 400.4 215.8 97.2 74.2 89.1 124.1.. 159.2 836.2 483.1 755.6 651.4 558.1 471.6 376.9 198.0 89.9 68.8 85.9 119.7.. 146.7 824.1 448.1 721.6 617.6 528.3 436.0 342.8 177.2 80.7 63.3 80.7 109.0.. 135.8 807.8 417.0 703.2 594.0 499.5 403.9 312.0 159.7 72.3 57.6 76.3 105.7

.. 129.4 799.5 393.3 682.0 574.8 475.8 380.8 287.8 146.2 66.9 54.9 71.7 102.3.. 122.5 776.9 366.9 664.6 547.8 443.2 351.2 267.1 134.2 62.0 51.3 68.6 102.9.. 117.6 764.9 350.1 644.2 522.7 424.1 335.2 252.0 125.9 57.1 48.7 68.0 91.2.. 112.0 753.8 331.4 616.2 496.0 397.7 314.1 240.1 116.8 51.6 45.9 63.6 85.8

Estimated2

.. 101.5 767.2 323.4 620.9 493.9 391.8 304.1 229.7 105.4 42.0 34.6 48.6 64.7.. 93.6 749.7 303.3 593.8 470.7 364.3 285.2 210.8 94.6 36.7 31.5 44.8 64.1

.. 87.1 731.4 285.5 564.9 446.3 341.3 261.9 195.7 84.2 32.9 28.4 41.2 59.6

.. 81.8 727.9 273.1 562.1 428.6 328.9 250.0 178.5 74.6 29.0 26.9 39.1 55.8

.. 76.8 692.5 248.2 528.1 399.2 295.0 221.9 161.4 66.3 27.3 28.3 41.8 49.8

.. 73.0 709.6 229.0 519.4 369.6 265.1 201.7 147.8 60.9 26.2 27.0 38.6 45.9

.. 65.4 653.1 202.3 475.9 335.2 233.3 176.3 129.0 54.4 23.2 24.0 35.6 42.8

.. 63.9 652.1 190.9 442.6 312.2 221.0 166.9 122.8 53.4 23.6 24.3 33.0 41.1

.. 60.4 590.4 181.1 431.1 293.4 215.1 156.2 121.2 51.0 22.0 24.4 30.5 35.3

.. 56.1 605.3 170.1 418.8 282.4 205.0 154.3 114.8 48.8 20.9 22.8 28.7 35.8

.. 56.6 578.7 171.0 416.8 286.7 205.7 156.1 119.6 51.8 20.7 21.2 27.0 32.5

.. 54.7 570.0 162.1 391.4 277.6 196.5 145.8 117.2 52.7 20.8 21.4 25.5 29.7

.. 53.3 610.1 158.0 387.1 271.9 192.3 144.3 116.0 51.0 20.4 20.5 24.5 28.4

.. 48.7 615.7 138.5 355.4 236.8 176.7 129.0 100.6 47.0 20.3 18.4 22.2 25.7

.. 44.4 525.1 123.6 341.2 227.1 160.2 112.7 89.8 41.6 19.9 18.3 21.4 23.1

.. 39.6 572.8 114.3 321.6 201.1 141.0 104.4 80.5 38.4 18.8 16.1 19.0 22.2

.. 33.9 523.2 101.7 300.3 184.3 132.9 88.7 67.8 33.1 16.5 13.7 16.9 20.7

.. 30.4 487.4 89.9 294.9 171.9 112.8 81.4 59.8 29.7 14.8 13.5 15.4 19.0
nmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

women per 1,000 total live births in specified group]

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Estimated2

.. 27.0 480.1 78.2 256.2 152.1 103.5 72.4 51.8 26.2 13.3 12.9 14.5 17.1

.. 25.3 498.6 76.5 260.1 145.6 96.1 71.3 51.5 24.2 12.5 11.4 13.6 16.6

.. 22.9 475.4 71.6 238.7 140.2 89.9 65.7 46.2 21.9 11.4 10.2 12.7 15.8

.. 22.1 466.6 69.4 224.2 134.7 88.5 61.3 45.0 21.8 11.1 9.8 11.9 13.5

.. 20.9 453.2 65.9 215.0 125.2 83.6 57.7 43.4 20.6 10.4 9.9 11.3 13.7

.. 19.6 415.4 62.7 208.6 123.5 80.3 58.0 38.8 19.5 9.9 9.5 9.8 14.6

.. 19.0 425.9 62.6 200.1 119.1 80.1 57.6 41.0 19.6 9.6 8.5 10.4 13.5

.. 18.6 421.3 63.6 204.7 120.9 80.1 58.2 42.3 19.3 9.3 8.5 10.0 12.5

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 18.2 368.3 63.1 102.2 48.5 19.1 9.1 8.2 10.2 12.6

.. 16.9 431.5 59.0 95.7 45.3 18.1 8.4 7.7 9.1 10.6

.. 16.3 381.8 58.4 96.3 44.1 17.6 7.9 7.2 9.3 9.7

.. 16.3 376.6 57.9 97.3 43.5 16.7 8.2 7.4 8.5 10.6

.. 17.5 419.4 62.4 102.2 47.5 18.3 8.7 7.9 9.0 10.2

.. 19.5 443.7 69.7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22.7 8.9 6.0 7.3 8.5

Reported/inferred1

.. 582.5 964.2 903.9 962.0 948.3 928.2 900.0 856.9 693.0 446.4 349.1 326.1 304.4.. 582.2 970.3 899.7 962.0 946.0 930.1 897.4 847.3 688.2 445.2 347.3 320.5 306.4.. 571.1 975.3 896.8 964.5 946.2 926.9 893.9 844.5 668.9 435.0 339.1 306.5 289.8.. 566.4 976.1 897.5 968.4 954.8 931.6 892.7 836.4 656.3 426.4 329.9 297.6 274.2.. 554.7 981.3 896.4 973.9 957.8 934.4 891.1 825.2 643.1 412.2 314.1 283.1 273.4

.. 547.3 984.2 891.5 973.4 958.4 928.7 882.6 819.8 631.1 399.7 303.2 276.4 266.9.. 539.7 985.0 883.1 972.6 953.6 920.5 873.5 810.3 618.0 388.2 292.1 263.6 254.3.. 529.4 983.2 878.0 973.2 951.2 920.6 868.9 802.5 599.7 371.1 278.9 259.0 259.7.. 523.2 980.6 872.1 971.2 950.7 916.0 865.3 790.7 584.3 359.8 267.5 252.1 259.7

.. 515.0 979.5 864.5 973.3 948.7 912.1 857.2 775.0 567.0 345.1 256.5 240.5 252.1.. 502.5 979.5 847.7 965.1 941.1 899.5 837.2 750.2 546.3 328.9 245.6 235.8 244.8.. 499.0 983.4 840.9 969.3 937.6 893.2 829.2 739.3 536.3 319.2 235.4 230.0 246.5.. 498.2 981.4 834.6 965.9 931.5 888.4 818.6 729.6 526.7 309.4 228.7 225.6 239.1
nmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

women per 1,000 total live births in specified group]

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Estimated2

.. 489.5 1000.0 834.2 969.8 939.9 892.1 818.0 722.5 518.3 300.9 220.4 213.2 226.2.. 488.1 984.6 825.2 968.2 933.3 877.8 806.1 716.7 509.0 286.6 215.3 220.9 235.7.. 475.6 974.4 803.2 953.7 915.2 853.4 779.7 693.5 487.2 269.7 207.9 213.9 221.5.. 464.9 987.6 794.1 953.3 905.3 849.5 764.6 672.9 456.7 251.7 200.4 211.4 225.7.. 451.5 989.2 769.9 949.3 902.8 833.4 728.8 630.7 425.3 239.2 194.8 209.5 226.2

.. 441.7 990.9 747.2 943.2 886.8 806.5 704.7 601.1 399.5 226.8 195.3 203.1 211.4.. 427.3 976.5 717.1 933.0 860.9 773.5 670.2 564.0 372.3 219.7 196.8 208.5 209.1.. 416.9 968.1 690.6 911.9 835.4 752.6 627.5 537.5 358.9 217.5 194.4 201.5 199.7.. 402.6 958.8 678.0 911.8 829.1 729.9 624.6 518.8 343.2 206.6 190.2 192.0 188.5

.. 373.3 953.3 651.7 891.4 817.8 716.3 595.0 493.9 316.4 193.4 177.3 185.4 182.3.. 349.3 941.9 613.5 872.2 782.4 677.7 554.0 461.7 295.0 180.6 172.8 168.8 169.1.. 325.1 913.9 574.0 846.1 748.9 636.1 517.2 425.2 275.0 170.8 156.4 158.6 158.7.. 312.0 907.7 549.7 836.3 722.3 611.7 492.2 398.6 264.0 168.0 155.3 157.2 156.5.. 293.8 891.6 521.1 800.3 699.9 574.1 464.3 376.3 253.2 164.4 151.5 155.3 133.0

.. 276.5 878.8 500.9 790.0 681.9 548.1 443.8 361.3 237.2 167.5 147.7 145.9 137.2.. 263.2 864.0 492.0 781.5 659.7 545.2 429.4 349.4 229.9 162.8 149.0 148.8 140.1.. 245.0 856.0 468.3 759.1 651.8 517.2 404.5 331.5 220.4 155.0 140.7 136.2 125.2.. 235.5 852.4 455.6 740.1 607.5 502.3 409.4 326.8 213.9 151.2 138.3 133.8 134.6

.. 227.8 842.0 439.3 724.3 607.8 490.9 390.6 316.9 212.5 147.2 134.6 136.6 120.7.. 223.4 816.5 439.2 716.4 592.2 489.1 396.5 319.5 209.4 143.5 132.0 129.9 126.7.. 215.8 822.4 421.5 700.7 577.8 469.3 376.2 306.2 199.6 141.3 129.9 127.7 116.8.. 218.0 808.8 426.5 701.6 582.4 479.7 377.2 306.2 202.3 143.4 133.4 130.1 124.4.. 212.3 825.0 419.0 702.1 569.4 459.9 375.8 301.9 194.2 141.6 130.9 127.1 119.7

.. 206.7 811.7 409.1 689.5 563.7 449.0 360.5 288.7 190.5 135.9 125.6 127.6 117.4.. 204.0 798.4 404.8 675.2 564.0 453.2 357.7 282.8 189.7 136.0 123.4 116.7 111.6.. 202.4 800.6 406.6 671.8 549.1 455.3 363.1 292.8 189.4 133.4 119.9 117.1 108.6

15–17 years 18–19 years

.. 198.5 797.7 399.8 516.4 318.1 184.6 127.2 119.7 113.7 94.8.. 191.1 779.9 389.0 501.0 309.6 177.3 122.1 108.7 108.7 103.4.. 183.4 783.8 384.1 513.7 290.9 163.7 116.2 106.5 99.9 79.3.. 182.8 771.4 365.5 472.5 289.1 162.6 117.4 109.4 102.5 98.5

.. 179.6 745.8 358.4 475.7 275.1 159.0 114.7 102.4 98.5 92.9.. 168.3 751.2 344.4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 136.4 88.3 80.1 75.3 77.4
nmarried women by age of mother and race: United States, 1940 and 1950–92—Con.

women per 1,000 total live births in specified group]

All

ages

Age of mother

Under 15

years

15–19 years

20–24

years

25–29

years

30–34

years

35–39

years

40 years

Total 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years and over

Reported/inferred1

.. 681.3 976.4 926.4 970.0 961.3 945.4 923.4 888.5 752.4 549.8 467.0 447.0 421.2.. 679.4 981.1 923.0 972.5 960.2 947.9 922.1 878.4 747.0 547.1 465.4 437.8 426.7.. 665.3 984.5 919.7 975.8 959.5 945.3 918.0 874.5 726.4 532.7 451.5 419.9 399.6.. 657.2 984.5 920.5 979.2 968.4 949.6 915.1 868.5 712.3 519.2 437.6 405.9 371.7.. 647.0 988.9 919.8 983.8 972.3 951.3 916.2 857.1 698.9 505.3 423.2 388.7 377.2

.. 634.0 990.5 913.9 982.3 970.0 945.5 907.0 850.3 685.2 486.4 402.5 372.8 365.1.. 623.7 990.2 907.0 979.7 967.5 939.3 899.3 842.4 672.2 472.5 384.3 355.5 342.1.. 612.2 987.6 902.2 981.1 965.0 940.1 894.9 834.2 653.5 452.2 370.1 351.1 344.3.. 602.9 985.7 896.2 977.7 963.1 936.1 890.5 822.9 637.7 438.2 352.3 334.8 333.9

.. 592.2 985.2 890.0 981.2 961.7 932.6 884.5 808.8 620.7 419.4 336.9 317.5 322.2.. 576.9 984.1 874.8 972.7 954.4 921.4 865.7 786.4 598.8 400.1 322.3 308.2 312.8.. 568.9 989.4 867.4 977.3 951.7 915.0 857.4 773.8 584.4 385.6 307.5 297.7 307.1.. 561.2 985.8 856.8 973.1 943.1 904.4 843.4 759.2 569.5 367.5 295.7 284.0 295.0

Estimated2

.. 554.6 1000.0 862.6 985.7 954.9 914.0 850.2 758.3 564.4 357.5 284.3 264.9 286.1.. 546.5 993.6 851.4 971.2 945.1 900.0 833.5 749.2 549.0 338.1 272.3 269.9 275.2.. 532.0 972.3 829.1 958.1 927.3 877.1 808.9 724.6 526.1 319.9 261.7 261.7 279.3.. 517.4 987.5 819.6 957.7 922.6 870.1 792.4 704.0 494.8 297.4 249.7 254.5 258.1.. 503.0 990.8 797.1 956.0 917.0 857.6 761.1 663.1 460.6 284.9 239.9 251.2 252.8

.. 487.9 984.3 768.7 947.7 896.4 826.0 726.2 627.9 429.8 268.4 241.0 238.9 231.0.. 470.9 973.8 737.1 937.2 875.4 790.5 689.9 588.4 400.9 261.7 237.8 241.1 226.7.. 457.5 964.3 709.8 914.6 849.2 769.8 648.5 560.7 386.3 257.0 233.4 229.0 231.8.. 439.1 964.3 695.7 916.3 839.0 743.5 644.2 537.5 369.5 240.5 221.9 216.3 220.2

.. 405.3 949.9 669.3 897.8 826.3 732.2 611.9 513.2 338.8 221.3 204.5 207.0 185.2.. 375.8 934.8 627.4 883.0 785.8 688.9 570.0 477.7 312.8 202.7 196.4 186.0 183.4.. 348.7 917.3 586.6 851.0 754.6 645.3 530.6 438.6 290.2 190.2 176.4 174.1 170.9

as not reported have been inferred from other items on the birth certificate and included with data from the reporting States; see Technical notes.

d for the United States from data for registration areas in which marital status of mother was reported; see Technical notes.
to unmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 1,224,876 1,213,769 1,165,384 1,094,169 1,005,299 933,013 878,477 828,174 665,747 398,700

.. 721,986 707,502 669,698 613,543 557,394 513,984 480,533 445,595 328,984 175,100.. 458,969 463,750 455,304 442,395 413,157 387,468 369,786 356,205 318,799 215,100

.. 20,272 20,009 19,131 18,640 16,934 15,955 15,385 14,897 14,079 9,210

.. 5,517 5,197 4,921 4,659 4,150 3,658 3,329 3,157 2,415 1,398.. 14,680 14,755 14,157 13,929 12,744 12,252 12,020 11,707 11,648 7,762

.. 3,215 3,148 3,113 2,869 2,627 2,564 2,531 2,344 1,488 698

.. 1,505 1,482 1,390 1,256 1,117 1,150 1,173 1,112 664 244. . 191 178 161 158 133 119 143 111 73 38

.. 24,939 23,899 22,532 20,708 18,815 17,227 15,598 14,172 9,363 3,396.. 19,443 18,321 17,102 15,313 13,692 12,404 11,161 10,062 6,274 2,122.. 1,598 1,616 1,571 1,554 1,398 1,308 1,187 1,117 823 494

.. 10,781 10,601 10,713 9,944 9,273 8,498 8,246 7,898 7,636 4,522

.. 4,886 4,676 4,710 4,136 3,835 3,407 3,164 2,858 2,375 1,082.. 5,822 5,849 5,917 5,761 5,401 5,058 5,051 5,012 5,244 3,438

.. 206,396 204,229 193,559 171,189 152,607 136,785 127,683 115,671 86,142 - - -

.. 167,651 164,995 154,625 133,398 117,314 103,767 96,992 86,971 63,352 - - -.. 29,226 30,287 30,536 30,071 28,209 26,677 25,277 23,537 20,138 - - -

.. 12,971 12,684 11,374 10,787 10,431 10,171 9,927 9,158 6,469 3,762

.. 10,801 10,590 9,416 8,987 8,717 8,494 8,317 7,736 5,397 3,204.. 1,686 1,657 1,576 1,465 1,419 1,415 1,353 1,204 902 552

.. 13,657 13,581 13,330 13,005 11,460 11,045 8,504 9,358 6,957 - - -

.. 8,934 8,792 8,641 8,461 7,342 7,718 5,449 5,910 4,126 - - -.. 4,347 4,450 4,401 4,260 3,921 3,096 2,944 3,349 2,803 - - -

.. 3,470 3,559 3,222 3,125 2,819 2,742 2,621 2,522 2,276 1,598

.. 1,593 1,482 1,392 1,297 1,217 1,114 1,035 1,042 829 508

.. 1,853 2,054 1,815 1,813 1,596 1,616 1,578 1,473 1,442 1,082

.. 7,334 7,806 7,692 7,580 6,507 6,094 5,800 5,598 5,284 5,770

. . 244 198 353 235 237 259 258 314 258 406.. 6,828 7,145 6,899 6,985 5,972 5,542 5,361 5,204 5,011 5,345

.. 65,491 64,101 63,169 58,305 52,867 48,200 44,812 42,202 30,322 16,652

.. 33,993 32,159 31,340 27,815 24,213 21,309 19,350 17,393 10,331 5,476.. 30,963 31,414 31,385 30,047 28,308 26,611 25,257 24,648 19,909 11,132

.. 38,925 38,116 36,979 34,926 31,348 28,647 26,701 24,764 21,366 - - -

.. 11,607 11,066 10,538 9,713 8,189 7,516 6,700 5,852 3,828 - - -

.. 27,103 26,892 26,293 25,084 23,050 21,050 19,930 18,841 17,522 - - -

.. 5,204 5,195 5,088 4,609 4,222 3,968 3,718 3,644 3,188 1,600

. . 888 934 898 865 891 847 800 804 781 462. . 133 111 119 103 100 99 77 82 45 14.. 3,179 2,924 2,738 2,561 2,216 2,073 1,949 1,893 1,588 - - -.. 3,016 2,767 2,584 2,386 2,092 1,951 1,837 1,761 1,488 - - -. . 21 13 10 15 6 7 6 13 11 - - -

.. 63,979 63,225 62,148 58,867 54,436 50,677 47,843 46,495 42,812 27,580

.. 29,544 28,954 28,007 25,514 23,543 21,560 20,397 19,154 15,871 9,420.. 33,993 33,811 33,712 32,836 30,533 28,800 27,212 27,119 26,755 18,056

.. 24,786 24,294 22,562 19,898 18,543 17,260 16,657 16,020 13,704 8,052

.. 17,461 16,974 15,415 13,379 12,167 11,539 11,000 10,412 8,152 4,826.. 7,237 7,224 6,996 6,410 6,298 5,679 5,603 5,576 5,523 3,218
to unmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 9,058 8,657 8,282 7,575 6,736 6,147 5,825 5,590 4,899 3,402

.. 7,990 7,626 7,340 6,613 5,885 5,347 5,102 4,891 4,261 2,956. . 889 861 766 811 730 676 620 604 576 402.. 9,224 8,746 8,397 7,577 7,025 6,633 6,568 5,843 4,986 2,516.. 6,789 6,452 6,095 5,424 4,921 4,650 4,648 4,089 3,249 1,754.. 2,180 2,048 2,099 1,967 1,914 1,793 1,742 1,597 1,660 736

.. 14,181 13,796 12,829 12,048 11,206 10,658 10,355 9,799 8,966 5,008

.. 10,455 10,017 9,285 8,563 7,882 7,656 7,275 6,861 5,749 2,864.. 3,659 3,726 3,496 3,441 3,292 2,975 3,064 2,928 3,207 2,140

.. 28,452 27,694 26,601 25,692 24,752 23,594 23,564 23,261 19,191 10,972

.. 7,350 6,795 6,425 5,946 5,525 5,164 5,045 4,849 3,571 1,774.. 20,899 20,705 19,971 19,525 19,034 18,225 18,363 18,272 15,576 9,174

.. 4,063 4,180 3,931 3,806 3,489 3,338 3,171 3,012 2,281 1,250

.. 3,980 4,087 3,815 3,717 3,423 3,268 3,108 2,950 2,226 1,214. . 30 21 37 25 15 19 15 13 11 12

.. 23,717 24,292 23,789 22,607 24,716 22,866 21,198 19,773 15,075 - - -

.. 8,089 8,733 8,497 7,916 9,140 8,373 7,683 7,070 4,715 - - -.. 15,303 15,173 14,961 14,356 15,014 13,983 13,127 12,375 10,218 - - -

.. 22,618 22,873 22,886 21,798 19,559 17,616 15,861 15,033 11,369 - - -

.. 16,368 16,691 16,548 15,896 14,426 13,194 12,195 11,608 8,711 - - -.. 5,446 5,414 5,479 5,082 4,424 3,938 3,378 3,201 2,585 - - -

.. 38,620 40,941 40,289 36,441 30,195 28,724 26,620 24,941 23,543 18,738

.. 16,838 17,830 17,410 15,685 13,816 13,152 12,557 12,061 10,740 8,982.. 21,431 22,720 22,477 20,365 16,155 15,368 13,846 12,677 12,654 9,688

.. 15,058 14,984 14,192 13,142 12,235 11,114 10,721 10,158 7,731 5,518

.. 11,451 11,319 10,896 9,994 9,341 8,572 8,414 8,012 6,367 4,710.. 2,170 2,090 1,890 1,766 1,638 1,374 1,180 1,098 687 510

.. 18,312 18,317 17,627 16,958 15,824 14,499 14,228 14,275 13,418 8,510

.. 3,291 3,302 2,973 2,734 2,519 2,152 2,051 1,972 1,479 798.. 14,872 14,848 14,507 14,077 13,162 12,232 12,081 12,194 11,876 7,672

.. 24,049 23,736 22,643 21,123 19,124 17,823 16,917 16,599 13,920 9,262

.. 13,340 12,991 12,147 11,336 10,162 9,460 8,719 8,344 6,420 3,844.. 10,474 10,541 10,308 9,620 8,859 8,269 8,116 8,189 7,466 5,394

.. 3,032 2,898 2,757 2,539 2,430 2,379 2,262 2,270 1,778 - - -

.. 2,076 2,000 1,801 1,644 1,520 1,495 1,490 1,507 1,220 - - -. . 17 13 18 11 9 6 8 10 7 - - -

.. 5,290 5,181 5,056 4,662 4,333 4,006 3,788 3,790 3,173 1,952

.. 4,019 3,866 3,798 3,412 3,130 2,901 2,716 2,773 2,301 1,438. . 954 999 980 969 922 867 846 807 721 448

.. 7,449 7,016 5,480 4,607 3,432 2,740 2,637 2,398 1,791 1,026.. 5,462 5,132 3,946 3,191 2,188 1,677 1,579 1,431 1,061 618

.. 1,555 1,503 1,263 1,164 1,087 924 917 805 635 366

.. 3,068 2,996 2,967 2,797 2,503 2,511 2,213 2,065 1,506 750

.. 3,000 2,953 2,914 2,750 2,449 2,469 2,186 2,037 1,492 738. . 54 33 42 34 26 33 18 19 9 12

.. 31,631 31,972 29,756 29,364 28,580 26,647 24,887 23,495 20,415 12,534

.. 15,821 15,993 14,711 13,933 13,734 12,708 11,999 11,003 8,562 4,274.. 15,385 15,611 14,677 15,125 14,547 13,788 12,697 12,296 11,786 8,196
to unmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 11,023 10,445 9,704 9,447 8,711 8,067 7,629 7,298 4,198 - - -

.. 8,003 7,549 6,893 6,586 6,015 5,585 5,340 5,117 2,834 - - -. . 298 329 304 294 274 255 230 227 149 - - -

. . 100,260 99,738 98,110 92,996 84,381 80,939 77,535 72,839 56,905 - - -

.. 56,641 55,752 53,660 49,887 43,796 42,212 40,071 37,331 26,978 - - -.. 41,360 42,118 42,700 41,615 39,248 37,582 36,501 34,668 28,755 - - -

.. 32,547 32,340 30,718 28,315 25,622 23,262 21,323 19,772 16,055 12,210

.. 11,394 11,096 10,083 8,925 7,973 7,039 6,169 5,594 3,706 2,594.. 20,262 20,357 19,816 18,614 16,970 15,619 14,626 13,645 11,936 9,380

.. 1,995 1,952 1,699 1,615 1,578 1,429 1,398 1,347 1,107 726

.. 1,425 1,376 1,172 1,079 1,071 957 972 922 769 558. . 15 13 16 9 17 132662

.. 51,317 50,826 48,289 45,921 42,448 39,237 36,917 34,922 30,130 - - -

.. 31,024 30,500 28,652 27,039 24,885 22,996 21,573 20,017 16,353 - - -.. 20,051 20,079 19,397 18,671 17,381 16,057 15,187 14,769 13,693 - - -

.. 13,486 12,973 11,998 11,258 10,600 9,892 9,426 9,149 7,315 3,736

.. 8,025 7,548 6,995 6,390 5,986 5,629 5,265 5,117 3,637 1,892.. 3,532 3,545 3,311 3,262 3,050 2,884 2,822 2,771 2,659 1,470

.. 11,343 11,324 11,041 10,436 9,435 8,672 8,025 7,403 6,378 2,628.. 10,059 10,011 9,782 9,226 8,329 7,683 7,148 6,516 5,664 2,230. . 676 703 656 631 619 552 482 506 466 278

.. 51,959 51,360 49,258 47,093 43,919 41,143 39,298 36,546 28,094 18,526

.. 31,183 30,501 29,049 27,273 25,451 23,657 22,612 21,221 15,388 8,584.. 20,181 20,319 19,793 19,446 18,189 17,257 16,497 15,154 12,603 9,874

.. 4,298 4,073 3,997 3,684 3,262 3,064 2,656 2,549 1,907 1,062

.. 3,256 3,065 3,027 2,787 2,501 2,361 2,024 1,964 1,463 754. . 797 757 729 711 616 605 545 515 408 296

.. 19,934 20,000 19,148 18,116 16,722 15,333 14,304 13,714 11,973 7,694

.. 5,693 5,484 5,217 4,723 4,135 3,722 3,307 2,988 2,095 1,170.. 14,173 14,466 13,857 13,345 12,534 11,580 10,965 10,709 9,859 6,502

.. 2,933 2,720 2,515 2,415 2,334 2,225 2,036 2,175 1,780 806

.. 1,652 1,516 1,327 1,224 1,243 1,112 998 1,102 908 500. . 26 10 18 18 11 14 11 8 12 4

.. 24,061 24,026 22,662 21,281 19,511 17,897 16,767 16,214 13,739 8,950

.. 11,088 10,868 10,037 8,994 7,982 7,207 6,636 6,317 4,662 2,594.. 12,829 13,027 12,506 12,217 11,474 10,655 10,104 9,870 9,061 6,354

.. 55,994 56,528 55,435 60,303 59,820 57,464 54,240 50,445 36,406 20,164

.. 35,324 34,992 33,983 36,938 36,567 35,281 33,089 30,089 19,212 9,742.. 20,032 20,896 20,941 22,869 22,790 21,760 20,728 20,019 17,058 10,356.. 5,634 5,196 4,910 4,504 4,221 3,929 3,575 3,259 2,593 970

.. 5,004 4,621 4,333 3,935 3,772 3,496 3,192 2,919 2,359 842. . 127 92 116 103 88 87 79 73 61 44

.. 1,811 1,811 1,666 1,685 1,510 1,459 1,359 1,378 1,080 - - -

.. 1,774 1,776 1,645 1,667 1,503 1,454 1,354 1,372 1,076 - - -. . 13 17 9 8 6 4 1 4 1 ---

.. 27,538 27,125 25,874 24,410 22,126 20,562 19,538 18,443 15,055 9,906

.. 11,924 11,731 10,921 10,061 9,013 8,325 7,544 6,885 4,996 3,104

.. 15,237 14,997 14,631 14,094 12,872 12,006 11,797 11,362 9,998 6,776
to unmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 20,116 19,861 18,746 17,638 16,150 14,629 13,745 12,978 9,227 5,528

.. 16,448 16,341 15,417 14,187 13,003 11,716 11,112 10,460 7,556 4,454.. 1,740 1,672 1,579 1,543 1,475 1,414 1,299 1,269 953 700

.. 6,149 6,040 5,743 5,212 4,948 4,722 4,530 4,202 3,846 1,880

.. 5,559 5,451 5,144 4,653 4,390 4,191 4,041 3,703 3,243 1,522. . 581 581 587 551 553 529 485 495 599 350

.. 18,444 18,235 17,656 16,815 15,528 14,698 14,184 13,359 10,376 5,886

.. 11,685 11,579 11,205 10,662 9,908 9,381 9,278 8,856 7,054 4,464.. 6,007 5,971 5,789 5,534 5,045 4,762 4,374 4,033 2,968 1,322

.. 1,613 1,546 1,383 1,276 1,229 1,189 1,202 1,244 867 430

.. 1,423 1,371 1,223 1,139 1,094 1,049 1,079 1,109 766 372. . 33 39 30 31 29 34 34 24 31 24

s other than white and black.

District of Columbia include an unknown number of births to unmarried women erroneously allocated to this area because of inomplete residence reporting; see reference 17.

marital status of mother is inferred for births to residents of several States; see Technical notes.
nmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92

specified group]

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 301.3 295.3 280.3 270.8 257.1 244.9 233.9 220.2 184.3 106.9

.. 225.5 218.3 203.5 192.2 179.7 168.9 159.2 146.7 112.0 56.6.. 681.3 679.4 665.3 657.2 647.0 634.0 623.7 612.2 561.2 375.8

.. 325.6 318.6 301.3 297.9 278.8 267.8 258.7 249.4 221.7 139.2

.. 137.3 127.8 119.7 115.4 105.1 93.8 85.8 80.5 59.2 31.5.. 682.1 681.5 647.4 642.0 612.5 607.2 593.7 582.0 521.0 360.7

.. 274.2 269.4 261.6 245.9 233.9 219.6 208.0 182.5 156.2 93.0

.. 189.7 188.0 171.9 158.1 145.4 139.6 132.9 116.4 95.2 44.3.. 352.4 343.6 300.9 296.4 272.0 268.0 296.7 242.9 201.1 141.8

.. 362.3 350.9 326.6 308.2 286.7 271.9 256.2 238.8 187.1 91.4

.. 327.1 313.1 288.9 267.4 245.0 229.3 214.0 198.0 146.0 66.3.. 652.8 641.0 612.0 612.5 579.6 571.2 550.0 550.5 489.3 339.8

.. 309.6 298.8 293.9 276.9 264.7 245.9 239.8 224.2 204.8 127.6

.. 185.9 174.6 171.3 152.6 144.7 129.3 121.2 106.8 85.3 40.9.. 714.2 704.8 695.7 682.1 660.0 641.0 633.0 615.6 571.9 385.3

.. 343.0 334.8 315.9 300.3 286.2 271.7 264.8 245.6 213.8 - - -

.. 340.4 329.6 307.4 287.3 272.5 254.2 247.1 226.7 186.5 - - -.. 628.4 635.4 623.3 621.2 613.5 606.3 600.5 580.9 541.0 - - -

.. 237.8 235.7 212.5 204.6 195.5 189.0 180.0 166.1 130.1 90.8

.. 217.6 215.5 192.1 186.1 177.8 171.4 163.0 150.9 116.5 81.9.. 560.5 568.8 545.9 532.0 520.7 521.6 509.4 500.4 441.3 292.5

.. 287.1 279.6 265.9 262.9 238.4 235.3 189.6 212.7 179.4 - - -

.. 221.8 214.0 202.7 201.6 177.5 189.7 139.7 154.1 121.4 - - -.. 707.4 701.3 691.5 661.4 670.3 570.3 575.1 672.4 643.2 - - -

.. 325.6 318.1 289.9 291.2 270.9 277.3 269.7 262.2 241.8 155.7

.. 201.6 182.7 166.5 161.7 154.2 149.5 141.6 141.5 115.4 63.4.. 725.8 719.9 702.7 714.3 673.7 704.1 687.3 689.9 670.7 498.6

.. 669.2 662.9 649.1 643.0 617.4 597.0 577.4 567.2 564.5 387.3

.. 151.8 123.4 193.2 129.8 135.3 145.5 147.5 171.4 174.4 212.8.. 775.6 773.4 759.6 759.3 737.1 716.6 685.9 673.8 645.2 417.1

.. 341.6 330.4 316.9 301.9 287.1 275.2 267.4 257.6 230.1 145.4

.. 236.9 221.5 208.9 191.4 175.3 161.5 153.0 140.9 106.2 63.3.. 688.5 687.0 676.2 665.7 651.6 648.7 645.2 638.5 599.2 409.2

.. 350.3 345.6 328.2 316.7 296.0 279.5 272.0 257.0 231.5 - - -

.. 168.7 162.1 149.3 140.0 121.8 113.5 105.5 93.6 66.0 - - -.. 671.2 668.0 649.1 636.7 619.1 602.7 594.0 574.6 522.3 - - -

.. 262.0 260.8 248.3 238.0 221.7 213.3 203.2 199.0 175.5 97.4

.. 154.8 158.9 144.9 144.8 146.3 140.9 133.8 131.2 132.8 94.7

.. 194.2 179.9 176.6 151.2 152.2 145.8 121.8 123.9 110.3 *

.. 183.1 173.8 166.6 161.2 140.8 130.1 118.5 107.8 78.7 - - -

.. 179.2 169.5 162.0 155.6 136.9 126.1 114.9 103.1 75.3 - - -.. 362.1 * * * * * * * * ---

.. 334.3 325.5 317.4 309.3 294.5 280.5 270.7 257.3 225.3 134.3

.. 206.8 199.1 190.2 180.1 168.4 156.9 149.3 136.5 108.5 57.9.. 792.0 781.8 778.2 756.3 758.0 740.2 730.3 725.4 665.9 446.5
nmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

specified group]

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 294.6 283.5 261.7 238.4 227.1 219.7 210.0 197.9 155.0 81.5

.. 236.2 225.1 203.4 181.5 168.8 164.9 155.4 144.1 103.7 54.0.. 767.8 759.6 738.5 713.0 707.8 712.0 699.9 684.1 595.7 351.5

.. 235.5 222.0 210.2 194.1 176.7 162.2 150.2 135.6 102.5 70.5

.. 218.5 205.5 194.7 177.1 160.8 146.8 136.7 122.8 92.0 62.8.. 750.8 743.5 730.9 767.3 750.3 718.4 701.4 676.4 595.7 437.0.. 242.6 231.1 215.2 195.6 181.1 172.2 167.3 147.3 122.5 65.9.. 201.6 191.6 175.4 157.2 142.2 135.0 131.9 114.2 88.3 49.9.. 657.8 647.7 628.1 606.5 601.3 584.0 574.0 551.3 530.7 280.3

.. 263.4 253.9 236.0 225.5 219.5 207.4 199.9 185.3 150.5 84.6

.. 216.8 205.8 190.0 178.6 172.1 164.4 155.6 142.9 106.9 53.2.. 705.3 706.5 685.8 674.0 673.6 669.6 648.2 641.5 594.7 411.1

.. 402.4 383.6 368.5 353.1 334.9 319.0 302.3 285.6 233.6 147.6

.. 184.9 167.5 155.8 142.7 129.4 119.8 109.7 99.2 70.8 38.3.. 700.3 681.1 672.0 655.3 638.6 617.5 600.1 584.0 504.8 330.6

.. 253.0 249.5 226.5 217.9 203.2 198.1 189.8 178.2 138.6 70.6

.. 252.5 248.5 224.2 216.1 202.5 196.7 188.6 176.9 137.0 69.5.. 365.9 259.3 385.4 320.5 ******

.. 304.8 306.8 296.5 288.9 326.2 315.2 304.8 290.7 251.5 - - -

.. 163.0 170.9 162.1 153.6 182.4 173.5 163.7 153.1 114.7 - - -.. 601.9 607.6 601.5 600.9 655.7 643.9 644.0 626.2 586.4 - - -

.. 259.3 259.3 247.0 238.2 221.8 208.6 193.0 183.8 156.5 - - -

.. 217.8 219.7 207.0 199.5 186.7 175.7 165.0 155.9 130.3 - - -.. 629.8 623.4 607.9 608.2 581.1 577.5 560.3 584.2 551.6 - - -

.. 268.0 272.6 262.1 245.4 216.1 204.3 193.4 180.7 161.8 109.6

.. 150.1 153.7 146.2 135.2 122.9 115.8 111.8 105.6 89.3 62.6.. 720.6 718.4 703.4 679.6 639.9 614.9 592.1 577.6 539.7 364.0

.. 229.5 223.4 208.7 194.6 183.3 170.5 163.0 150.7 114.1 80.7

.. 193.5 186.7 175.8 162.2 152.2 142.1 137.2 126.9 98.5 70.8.. 744.2 745.9 732.8 720.2 732.6 696.4 701.5 688.0 602.1 479.3

.. 429.0 424.0 404.6 393.9 376.1 351.1 339.8 328.5 280.4 173.5

.. 151.6 150.7 133.3 123.8 115.4 99.3 92.7 85.6 59.7 31.2.. 724.6 713.1 699.1 687.9 666.3 638.5 626.3 610.8 523.9 330.9

.. 315.2 301.7 285.7 271.3 250.0 237.2 224.8 215.6 176.3 114.6

.. 215.5 203.3 187.9 177.1 160.1 151.0 138.3 129.3 96.3 56.3.. 786.6 770.8 759.7 749.8 728.7 706.8 711.5 704.3 647.3 445.3

.. 264.3 251.7 237.4 217.4 207.8 194.3 177.6 168.2 125.2 - - -

.. 208.0 199.4 179.6 161.5 149.6 139.2 130.8 124.7 93.7 - - -.. * * * * * * * * * ---

.. 226.1 215.7 207.4 192.5 181.2 168.2 155.1 148.3 116.0 75.9

.. 187.8 175.8 169.6 153.6 142.1 131.6 119.7 116.5 89.6 59.2.. 727.1 746.6 710.7 701.7 720.9 706.0 700.3 660.4 615.2 420.3

.. 332.9 318.5 253.7 235.0 190.6 164.4 165.9 156.5 134.5 108.8

.. 288.0 273.8 212.4 190.3 144.0 119.6 118.1 110.2 92.7 74.7.. 718.9 727.5 662.3 636.4 609.3 577.9 614.6 582.5 523.1 403.1
nmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

specified group]

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 191.9 183.3 168.9 157.1 144.1 147.4 139.2 133.6 109.6 61.8

.. 190.9 183.3 168.7 156.8 144.1 147.3 139.5 133.7 109.7 61.5.. 495.4 412.5 371.7 283.3 260.0 302.8 * * * *

.. 263.8 263.3 243.3 241.0 242.7 235.0 228.7 222.6 210.8 106.2

.. 174.2 172.3 155.9 149.5 150.8 142.6 140.1 132.7 113.2 44.5.. 657.3 658.1 635.5 630.3 644.0 646.0 635.1 626.2 615.7 388.3

.. 394.8 375.7 354.1 345.4 322.5 295.5 278.5 262.9 160.8 - - -

.. 345.6 327.7 305.0 292.9 269.2 246.0 232.0 219.7 129.2 - - -.. 580.9 572.2 566.1 558.9 539.4 494.2 456.3 451.3 273.9 - - -

. . 348.3 340.8 329.7 319.1 300.7 297.4 293.7 280.7 238.1 - - -

.. 266.4 257.3 243.1 231.2 210.7 208.0 202.3 190.3 147.7 - - -.. 678.1 677.6 674.4 657.9 645.8 638.8 639.4 630.4 601.3 - - -

.. 313.1 315.9 293.9 277.3 262.6 248.8 236.3 221.2 190.0 124.6

.. 161.0 160.2 141.7 128.2 119.1 108.6 98.5 89.4 64.0 37.3.. 668.0 668.8 644.1 621.7 600.5 590.1 573.1 551.3 485.1 349.8

.. 226.4 219.6 183.7 168.8 156.2 138.7 129.2 114.9 92.4 66.8

.. 182.0 174.0 140.4 126.8 117.4 102.4 98.3 85.8 69.3 54.9.. **********.. 316.3 306.6 289.3 280.1 264.4 248.6 233.6 217.6 178.1 - - -

.. 230.9 221.5 205.9 197.1 184.2 172.1 160.3 145.9 112.3 - - -

.. 771.4 761.8 747.3 740.4 725.6 707.0 690.1 675.4 614.2 - - -

.. 283.6 271.4 251.8 237.6 223.6 206.6 186.1 172.2 140.4 83.3

.. 215.1 201.2 185.1 169.7 158.3 145.4 127.4 116.9 84.4 50.5.. 684.0 686.7 649.2 642.0 627.7 602.1 567.6 558.6 534.6 345.9

.. 269.8 266.5 257.4 252.8 235.6 224.1 206.5 187.5 147.9 75.1

.. 257.5 253.5 245.1 240.2 222.8 211.7 195.6 175.3 138.7 67.0.. 707.9 726.2 713.8 696.5 697.1 675.6 638.4 645.4 589.1 398.3

.. 315.6 304.2 286.4 279.0 265.1 253.0 244.1 227.7 176.9 97.1

.. 229.3 218.0 202.4 193.5 182.8 172.0 165.2 154.1 111.2 51.8.. 794.4 787.9 774.9 772.1 758.1 753.3 746.0 725.0 672.9 413.2

.. 296.4 276.4 263.0 249.5 229.3 218.1 197.6 195.6 156.5 69.9

.. 256.9 236.8 226.3 213.4 196.8 186.7 166.8 166.1 130.7 53.1.. 672.0 662.9 629.5 647.5 614.2 618.0 635.9 608.0 598.2 392.6

.. 354.7 347.4 326.7 316.0 303.4 290.4 276.1 264.2 230.3 150.3

.. 167.6 158.5 146.5 136.6 123.9 115.3 105.1 94.0 68.1 36.0.. 656.0 644.2 618.1 600.3 588.5 574.9 551.6 543.6 473.9 350.1

.. 266.2 248.5 228.7 217.8 208.5 193.6 175.3 179.3 134.1 69.0

.. 181.3 166.3 144.7 133.5 133.0 115.2 101.8 107.0 78.6 48.4.. 329.1 *********

.. 326.9 322.5 302.3 290.8 275.9 263.4 253.1 242.9 198.5 124.3

.. 200.6 194.1 177.3 163.2 149.1 139.3 130.7 123.2 87.5 45.9.. 732.7 731.5 710.8 700.9 688.7 678.4 674.1 658.4 586.4 416.3

.. 174.5 177.9 175.2 196.0 197.2 190.3 176.6 163.7 133.1 87.4

.. 130.7 130.9 127.7 143.1 143.5 138.5 127.1 114.8 82.9 49.9.. 465.7 484.9 483.0 532.2 543.1 530.4 511.8 501.0 450.2 301.1
nmarried women by race of mother: United States and each State, 1970, 1980, and 1985–92—Con.

specified group]

1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1980 19702

.. 151.5 144.2 135.3 126.6 117.1 111.2 98.2 87.0 62.0 36.0

.. 141.7 135.2 125.8 116.6 109.6 103.7 91.8 81.3 58.2 32.2.. 518.4 511.1 527.3 481.3 539.9 472.8 443.8 442.4 412.2 229.2

.. 234.1 227.4 201.4 198.4 186.2 179.5 167.0 171.5 137.0 - - -

.. 232.5 226.1 200.5 198.1 186.8 179.9 167.4 171.5 137.2 - - -.. * * * * * * * * * ---

.. 283.3 278.6 260.4 252.2 237.6 227.6 224.1 214.3 191.9 116.2

.. 170.0 166.8 151.0 142.4 131.7 124.5 117.2 107.7 86.1 47.0

.. 638.8 630.0 612.8 603.8 587.1 572.0 579.0 574.2 533.0 367.5

.. 253.2 249.2 236.5 234.0 222.7 207.9 197.9 184.8 136.0 91.6

.. 234.7 231.4 218.2 213.2 201.7 186.6 178.5 165.8 121.9 79.7.. 553.3 542.3 543.0 530.4 527.7 517.8 496.7 500.4 460.6 362.3

.. 277.4 268.3 254.3 235.2 226.5 210.6 195.0 174.1 130.5 63.5

.. 261.6 252.5 238.2 219.0 209.9 195.1 181.1 160.0 114.7 53.7.. 712.9 721.7 680.2 665.5 659.9 621.6 578.8 560.6 545.5 297.6

.. 261.0 253.0 242.2 233.5 219.3 207.2 196.1 181.2 138.7 75.7

.. 192.5 186.0 177.0 170.2 159.0 149.1 143.5 133.1 102.1 60.8.. 822.1 826.6 806.9 799.2 795.0 790.1 764.2 750.9 656.6 342.5

.. 239.9 230.6 198.0 184.9 171.6 157.7 139.2 132.8 82.1 66.6

.. 224.9 217.3 185.9 174.4 161.7 146.4 130.6 123.7 75.2 60.3.. 507.7 600.0 447.8 413.3 391.9 395.3 523.1 381.0 397.4 307.7

s other than white and black.

District of Columbia include an unknown number of births to unmarried women erroneously allocated to this area because of incomplete residence reporting; see reference 17.
Appendix

Technical notes

Sources

Data shown in this report are based on 100 percent of the

birth certificates from all States and the District of Columbia.

The data are provided to the National Center for Health

Statistics (NCHS) through the Vital Statistics Cooperative

Program (VSCP). In 1972–84, the VSCP included varying

numbers of States that provided data based on 100 percent of

their birth certificates. Data for States not in the VSCP were

based on a 50-percent sample of birth certificates filed in those

States. During 1951–54, 1956–66, and 1968–71, data were

based on a 50-percent sample for all States. Data for 1967 are

based on a 20- to 50-percent sample of births. Data for

1940–50 and 1955 are based on 100 percent of birth certificates. Information on sampling procedures and sampling errors

for 1984 and earlier years is provided in the annual report,

Vital Statistics of the United States, Volume I, Natality.

Births by marital status

Beginning with the 1980 data year, national estimates of

births to unmarried women have been derived from two

sources. For most States (44 States and the District of Columbia in 1992), marital status was reported directly on the birth

certificates. In the remaining States that lack such an item

(California, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and

Texas in 1992), marital status is inferred from a comparison of

the child’s and the parents’ surnames. This procedure represents a substantial departure from the method used before

1980 to prepare national estimates of births to unmarried

women, which assumed that the incidence of births to unmarried women in States with no direct question on marital status

was the same as the incidence in reporting States in the same

geographic division.

The current method represents an effort to use related

information on the birth certificate to improve the quality of

national data as well as to provide data for the individual

nonreporting States. An evaluation of the current method and

its validity for California (the largest nonreporting State) has

been published (12). Because of the continued substantial

increases in nonmarital childbearing throughout the 1980’s,

the data have been intensively evaluated and reviewed by the

Division of Vital Statistics, NCHS. There is continuing concern that the current method might overstate the number of

births to unmarried women because it incorporates data based

on a comparison of surnames. This occurs because women

who have retained their maiden surname after marriage and

who are frequently older and well-educated would be classified as unmarried. The results of this evaluation have been

generally similar in both the reporting and the States using

inferential data for all races combined. The results have also

generally been similar for white and black births. However,

between 1991 and 1992, the patterns differed by race. Births to

unmarried white women increased 1 percent in the States

providing inferential data and 3 percent in the States with a

marital status item on the birth certificate. Conversely, births

to unmarried black women declined 3 percent in the States

providing inferential data and declined just slightly (0.2 percent) in the States reporting marital status directly on the birth

certificate.

Births in Texas

The number of births to unmarried women in Texas has

been underreported since 1989. Beginning in that year, as a

result of legislation passed in the State, a birth is considered to

have occurred to a married woman if the mother provides any

information about the father or if a paternity affidavit has been

filed. Prior to 1989, no information could be given about the

father if the mother was not married. The measurement of

marital status for births in Texas is expected to improve

beginning with the 1994 data year because a direct question on

marital status has been added to the birth certificate.

Race

Beginning with the 1989 data year, NCHS has tabulated

its birth data primarily by race of the mother. In 1988 and prior

years, births were tabulated by race of the child, which was

determined from the race of the parents as entered on the birth

certificate. When the parents were of the same race, as was the

case for 96.1 percent of births in 1992, the race of the child

was the same as the race of the parents. When the parents were

of different races and one parent was white, the child was

assigned to the other parent’s race. When the parents were of

different races and neither parent was white, the child was

assigned to the father’s race, with one exception. If either

parent was Hawaiian, the child was assigned to the Hawaiian

category. If race was missing for one parent, the child was

assigned to the race of the parent for whom race was reported.

Trend data by race shown in this report have been

retabulated by race of the mother for all years beginning with

53
the 1980 data year. The retabulation provides more uniform

data to those analyzing birth data by race, particularly trend

data. To facilitate continuity and analysis of the data, trend

tables showing data for years prior to 1980 show data for both

race of mother and race of child for 1980. This makes it

possible to distinguish the effects of this change from real

changes in the data.

The most important factor influencing the decision to

tabulate births by race of the mother was the recent revision of

the birth certificate, effective with the 1989 data year. This

revision includes many more health questions that are directly

associated with the mother (for example, method of delivery,

tobacco and alcohol use, and maternal weight gain). Additionally, many of the other items on the birth certificate for more

than two decades also relate directly to the mother, for

example, age, education level, and receipt of prenatal care. In

all these instances, it is more appropriate to tabulate births by

the mother’s race.

A second factor has been the increasing incidence of

interracial parentage. In 1992, 3.9 percent of births were to

parents of different races compared with just 1.4 percent in

1972. The majority of these births were to mothers who were

white and fathers who were of another race. There have been

two major consequences of the increasing interracial parentage. One is the effect on birth rates by race. Under the

previous procedures, the number of white births had been

arbitrarily limited to infants whose parents were both white (or

one parent white if only one parent’s race was reported). At

the same time, the number of births of other races had been

arbitrarily increased to include all births to white mothers and

fathers of other races. Thus, if race of the mother had been

used, birth rates per 1,000 unmarried white women in a given

age group would have been higher, while comparable rates for

unmarried black women would have been lower. The other

consequence of increasing interracial parentage is its impact

on the racial differential in various characteristics of births,

particularly in cases where there is generally a large racial

disparity, such as the incidence of nonmarital births. In this

instance, the racial differential is smaller when the data are

tabulated by race of child rather than by race of mother.

The third factor influencing the decision to tabulate births

by race of mother is the growing proportion of births with race

of the father not stated, 16 percent in 1992 compared with

9 percent two decades earlier. This primarily reflects the

increase in the proportion of births to unmarried women; in

many such cases, no information is reported on the father

generally because of legal restrictions in the State. These

births are already assigned to the race of the mother because

there is no alternative. Therefore, tabulating all births by race

of the mother provides for a more uniform approach rather

than a necessarily arbitrary combination of parental races.

Additional information on the tabulation of births by race is

provided in two recent papers (51,52).

Population denominators

The numbers of unmarried women (defined as ‘‘single,

widowed, and divorced’’ women) by age and race enumerated

by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1940 and 1950 have been

used to compute birth rates for unmarried women for those

years. Rates by age for 1941–49 shown in table 1 are based on

Census Bureau estimates of the unmarried female population.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census’ March Current Population Survey (CPS) provided annual estimates of the population

by age, sex, and marital status that were used as the basis for

rates beginning in 1951 (25). Because the estimates of the

unmarried population fluctuate erratically from year to year

due to sampling error, they have been smoothed so that the

rates computed from them do not also fluctuate.

The observed percent of women unmarried in each age

and race group in each year was smoothed by computing a

three-term moving average for the years 1955–92. Because the

data necessary for calculating the averages at the beginning of

the period are not available by race, they had to be estimated.

These estimates were made by assuming that the proportion of

unmarried women for each age-race group in each year from

1954 to 1956 was the same as the corresponding proportion

for 1957, the first year that these estimates were available from

the CPS. The estimates by race were then adjusted to the

observed total unmarried population in each age group in each

year.

The percents of women who were unmarried obtained by

computing a moving average were subsequently applied to

estimates of the total resident population as of July 1 in the

appropriate age-race groups (15,53–57). The total numbers of

unmarried women by age for 1955–92 were estimated by

summing up the figures for white women and women of all

other races.

The total figures (all races combined) for 1951–54 were

estimated by computing a three-term moving average of the

percent unmarried for each age group and applying these to

the annual July 1 estimates of the total resident population in

the appropriate age groups.

As noted above in the section on race, all trend data for

births to unmarried women, including birth rates, have been

retabulated by race of the mother for each year beginning with

1980. Therefore, rates and other measures by race shown in

this report for 1980–88 differ from those published in Vital

Statistics of the United States, Volume I, Natality, for 1991 and

earlier years.

Rates by Hispanic origin

In computing birth rates for unmarried Hispanic women

by age and educational attainment, births with origin of

mother not stated are included with non-Hispanic births. In

addition, all births to New Hampshire residents in 1990–92 are

assumed to be non-Hispanic. In 1990, 1.0 percent of the New

Hampshire population was reported to be Hispanic (58).

Hispanic births to Oklahoma residents in 1990 were estimated

to be in the same proportion as the proportion reported in

1991. Estimates of rates for the Hispanic population are

underestimates of the true rates to the extent that the births

with origin not stated (about 1 percent each year) were actually to Hispanic mothers, and by the proportion of New

54
Hampshire births that were to Hispanic mothers. The population with origin not stated was imputed. The effect on the rates

is believed to be small.

Rates by educational attainment

Estimated birth rates for unmarried women by educational

attainment, age, race, and Hispanic origin have been computed

for this report for 1992. The numbers of births by education

were reported for all States and the District of Columbia. The

populations by marital status, education, age, sex, race, and

Hispanic origin were provided by the U.S. Bureau of the

Census, based on the March 1992 Current Population Survey

(21). The distributions by educational attainment of unmarried

women in each age/race/Hispanic origin group were applied to

the July 1 population estimates to produce estimates of the

number of unmarried women by age, race, Hispanic origin,

and educational attainment. Thus, rates shown in table C in

each age/race group for women of all years of schooling

combined are the same as the rates in tables A and 1 for those

age groups common to all three tables. Because the March

1992 Current Population Survey did not provide separate

estimates of the population for ages 18–19 years and 20–24

years by marital status, education, sex, race, and Hispanic

origin, birth rates have been computed for the combined age

group 18–24 years for this report.

Computation of rates

In computing rates by live-birth order and educational

attainment of mother, births with birth order not stated and

births with educational attainment not stated were distributed

in the same proportion as births of known live-birth order and

education within each age-of-mother classification. This procedure is done separately by race and Hispanic origin.

Standardization for age and education

Differences in the distributions of black, white, and

Hispanic unmarried women by age and educational attainment

and the effect of these differences on birth rates for unmarried

women by education and race were noted in the text. To

eliminate the effects of these differences on the nonmarital

birth rates, standardized rates were computed using the direct

method of standardization. The 1992 distribution of unmarried

women of all races by age and educational attainment was

used as the standard population in this procedure. Standardization for educational attainment and age of mother′was computed separately for each racial group, using the following

formula:

m1 = Σ ma Pa / P

where

m1 = standardized birth rate for unmarried women for

given race/origin group

ma = birth rate for unmarried women in each educationage group for given race/origin

Pa = standard population of unmarried women in each

education-age group

P = total standard population of unmarried women 15–44

years of age

A similar procedure was followed to eliminate the effects

of differences among the distributions of black, white, and

Hispanic births by educational attainment and age of the

mother on the proportions of nonmarital births by educational

attainment and race. The direct method of standardization was

used, with the 1992 distribution of births of all races by

educational attainment and age used as the standard population. Standardized rates were computed separately for each

race/origin group using the following formula:

m1 = (Σ ma Pa / P) × 100

where

m1 = standardized proportion of births to unmarried

mothers for given race/origin group

ma = proportion of births to unmarried mothers in each

education-age group, for given race/origin

Pa = standard population of births in each education-age

group

P = total number of births to unmarried mothers

Kessner Index

The Kessner Index is a multidimensional measure that

examines when prenatal care began in terms of the total

number of prenatal visits made by the mother as well as the

gestational age of the infant (41). Care is classified as

‘‘adequate,’’ ‘‘intermediate,’’ or ‘‘inadequate.’’ Adequate care

is care that was begun in the first trimester with an appropriate

number of prenatal care visits consistent with the length of

gestation. Women classified as having inadequate care include

all women who began care in the third trimester plus women

whose care began earlier but who had four or fewer visits

depending on the length of the pregnancy. Intermediate care is

the classification for all other combinations of care, visits, and

length of gestation.

55
Vital and Health Statistics

series descriptions

SERIES 1. Programs and Collection Procedures—These reports

describe the data collection programs of the National Center

for Health Statistics. They include descriptions of the methods

used to collect and process the data, definitions, and other

material necessary for understanding the data.

SERIES 2. Data Evaluation and Methods Research—These reports

are studies of new statistical methods and include analytical

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected

data, and contributions to statistical theory. These studies also

include experimental tests of new survey methods and

comparisons of U.S. methodology with those of other

countries.

SERIES 3. Analytical and Epidemiological Studies—These reports

present analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and

health statistics. These reports carry the analyses further than

the expository types of reports in the other series.

SERIES 4. Documents and Committee Reports—These are final

reports of major committees concerned with vital and health

statistics and documents such as recommended model vital

registration laws and revised birth and death certificates.

SERIES 5. International Vital and Health Statistics Reports—These

reports are analytical or descriptive reports that compare U.S.

vital and health statistics with those of other countries or

present other international data of relevance to the health

statistics system of the United States.

SERIES 6. Cognition and Survey Measurement—These reports are

from the National Laboratory for Collaborative Research in

Cognition and Survey Measurement. They use methods of

cognitive science to design, evaluate, and test survey

instruments.

SERIES 10. Data From the National Health Interview Survey—These

reports contain statistics on illness; unintentional injuries;

disability; use of hospital, medical, and other health services;

and a wide range of special current health topics covering

many aspects of health behaviors, health status, and health

care utilization. They are based on data collected in a

continuing national household interview survey.

SERIES 11. Data From the National Health Examination Survey, the

National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, and

the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—

Data from direct examination, testing, and measurement on

representative samples of the civilian noninstitutionalized

population provide the basis for (1) medically defined total

prevalence of specific diseases or conditions in the United

States and the distributions of the population with respect to

physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics, and

(2) analyses of trends and relationships among various

measurements and between survey periods.

SERIES 12. Data From the Institutionalized Population Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these surveys are

included in Series 13.

SERIES 13. Data From the National Health Care Survey—These

reports contain statistics on health resources and the public’s

use of health care resources including ambulatory, hospital,

and long-term care services based on data collected directly

from health care providers and provider records.

SERIES 14. Data on Health Resources: Manpower and Facilities—

Discontinued in 1990. Reports on the numbers, geographic

distribution, and characteristics of health resources are now

included in Series 13.

SERIES 15. Data From Special Surveys—These reports contain

statistics on health and health-related topics collected in

special surveys that are not part of the continuing data

systems of the National Center for Health Statistics.

SERIES 16. Compilations of Advance Data From Vital and Health

Statistics—Advance Data Reports provide early release of

information from the National Center for Health Statistics’

health and demographic surveys. They are compiled in the

order in which they are published. Some of these releases

may be followed by detailed reports in Series 10–13.

SERIES 20. Data on Mortality—These reports contain statistics on

mortality that are not included in regular, annual, or monthly

reports. Special analyses by cause of death, age, other

demographic variables, and geographic and trend analyses

are included.

SERIES 21. Data on Natality, Marriage, and Divorce—These reports

contain statistics on natality, marriage, and divorce that are

not included in regular, annual, or monthly reports. Special

analyses by health and demographic variables and

geographic and trend analyses are included.

SERIES 22. Data From the National Mortality and Natality Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these sample surveys,

based on vital records, are now published in Series 20 or 21.

SERIES 23. Data From the National Survey of Family Growth—

These reports contain statistics on factors that affect birth

rates, including contraception, infertility, cohabitation,

marriage, divorce, and remarriage; adoption; use of medical

care for family planning and infertility; and related maternal

and infant health topics. These statistics are based on

national surveys of childbearing age.

SERIES 24. Compilations of Data on Natality, Mortality, Marriage,

Divorce, and Induced Terminations of Pregnancy—

These include advance reports of births, deaths, marriages,

and divorces based on final data from the National Vital

Statistics System that were published as supplements to the

Monthly Vital Statistics Report (MVSR). These reports provide

highlights and summaries of detailed data subsequently

published in Vital Statistics of the United States. Other

supplements to the MVSR published here provide selected

findings based on final data from the National Vital Statistics

System and may be followed by detailed reports in Series 20

or 21.

For answers to questions about this report or for a list of reports published

in these series, contact:

Data Dissemination Branch

National Center for Health Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Public Health Service

6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1064

Hyattsville, MD 20782

(301) 436–8500

E-mail: nchsquery@nch10a.em.cdc.gov

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm