Preliminary Data for 2007

"Data in this report are based on 98.7 percent of births for 2007. The records are weighted to independent control counts of all births received in state vital statistics offices in 2007. Comparisons are made with 2006 data."

The Results

The preliminary estimate of births in 2007 rose 1 percent to 4,317,119, the highest number of births ever registered for the United States. 

The general fertility rate increased by 1 percent in 2007, to 69.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years, the highest level since 1990. Increases occurred within all race and Hispanic origin groups and for nearly all age groups.

The birth rate for U.S. teenagers 15–19 years rose again in 2007 by about 1 percent, to 42.5 births per 1,000. The birth rate for teenagers 15–17 and 18–19 years each increased by 1 percent in 2007, to 22.2 and 73.9 per 1,000, respectively. The rate for the youngest group, 10–14 years, was unchanged.

Birth rates also increased for women in their twenties, thirties, and early forties between 2006 and 2007.

The 2007 total fertility rate increased to 2,122.5 births per 1,000 women.

All measures of childbearing by unmarried women rose to historic levels in 2007, with the number of births, birth rate, and proportion of births to unmarried women increasing 3 to 5 percent.

The cesarean delivery rate rose 2 percent in 2007, to 31.8 percent, marking the 11th consecutive year of increase and another record high for the United States.

The rate of preterm births (infants delivered at less than 37 weeks of gestation) decreased 1 percent in 2007, to 12.7 percent, with the decline predominately among infants born late preterm (at 34–36 weeks).

The rate of low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams) also declined slightly in 2007, to 8.2 percent.

For additional information and detailed tables, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_12.pdf