Population Reference Bureau Population Bulletin Vol. The family has changed more in the last 10 years than any other social institution. Women's childbearing and marriage patterns have been among the first to depart significantly from the past.
American women bear an average of two children during their lifetimes.
Since then, the TFR has remained fairly stable, its fluctuations have been moderate, and it has never strayed far from the two-child ideal that most Americans say they prefer. Beneath this apparent stability, however, the childbearing patterns of American women are being transformed. Compared with earlier decades, women in the 1990s are more likely to bear children out of wedlock, to wait until their 30s to begin families, or to remain childless. Furthermore, immigration and higher fertility among minorities are contributing to a shift in the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population. These trends will help shape the American family of the next century.