It seems that the trend in pregnancies has been taking quite a turn in recent years. Whereas many have worried about teenage pregnancies, the number of teenage girls getting pregnancy is going down. Conversely, the number of women waiting until they are 30 years old or older to have children is going up.
In the past 30 years, the number of women 30 years old and older having children has climbed to 96 out of every 1,000 women. Similarly, girls between the ages of 15 and 19 having babies has fallen to about 40 out of every 1,000 girls – a 2% decrease. The decrease is especially prevalent in non-Hispanic teenage black girls, who have experienced a 59% drop in pregnancies since 1991.
The reason for these changes? According to Brady Hamilton of the National Center for Health Statistics, more and more women are choosing to pursue their education and their careers before starting a family. This appears to be a natural evolution in the changing roles of women in the American society.
Hamilton states that the decrease in teenage pregnancies appears to be from a combination of factors, including a push in programs promoting abstinence and those that promote taking responsibility for sexual behavior. Despite these apparently positive affects of these programs, the number of births to unmarried woman has risen, with 48 of every 1,000 births being to unmarried women.
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