U.S. Birth And Fertility Rates Have Hit Record Lows. Here's Why

Published May 16, 2019 at 11:11 AM CDT

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A doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago. (Teresa Crawford/AP)

The birth rate in the United States in 2018 was the lowest it has been in 32 years. According to provisional data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the birth rate fell 2% from 2017, and it has been falling for the past four years. The general and total fertility rates both declined 2%, reaching record lows.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Brady Hamilton, statistician and demographer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, who co-authored the latest report.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

U.S. Birth And Fertility Rates Have Hit Record Lows. Here's Why

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