Births: Final Data for 2007
"...A total of 4,316,233 births were registered in the United States in 2007, the largest number of births ever reported. The general fertility rate increased 1 percent to 69.5 per 1,000. Birth rates increased for women in nearly all age groups. The rate for teenagers rose 1 percent, and is up 5 percent from 2005. The total fertility rate increased 1 percent to 2,122.0 births per 1,000 women. 2008 preliminary data, however, suggest a decline in the number and rate of births overall, and for most age groups under 40 years. All measures of unmarried childbearing reached record levels in 2007. The cesarean delivery rate rose to another all-time high - 31.8 percent. Preterm and low birthweight rates declined slightly; twin and triplet and higher order multiple birth rates were essentially unchanged. Preliminary findings for 2008 suggest a continuation of these trends for cesarean delivery, unmarried childbearing, and preterm births."