U.S. fertility rates continued to decline last year, according to data released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, birth rates for mothers aged 40 to 44 increased.
While the total number of births increased from 2023 to 2024 by 1%, the general fertility rate declined by 1% to 53.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 44. As the number of births declined 16% since the most recent high in 2007, the general fertility rate declined 22% from 2007 to 2024.
Data shows that births for the youngest cohort, those ages 15 to 19, declined by 4%. It also dropped by 3% among women ages 20 to 24, by 2% for women ages 25 to 29 and by 1% among women ages 30 to 34. Birth rates were unchanged for women ages 35 to 39 and they increased by 2% for women ages 40 to 44.
As fertility rates fell, the primary cesarean delivery rate also increased to nearly 23% last year. There were significant increases in cesareans among mothers in their 30s. Additionally, the “percentage of mothers for whom Medicaid was the primary source of payment for the delivery declined overall and for each maternal age group,” per the CDC.
This news comes after “Trump accounts” for newborns were included in the “Big Beautiful Bill” legislation. Previously, Audacy reported that President Donald Trump’s administration was so concerned about falling birth rates that it considered offering $5,000 bonuses to American mothers after delivery.
According to CNBC, the $1,000 one-time deposits eventually included in the recent spending bill serve as a savings account for newborns. However, it also said that the rules related to the accounts are “somewhat confusing,” citing tax experts.
Recent fertility highs were recorded in 2007, the year before The Great Recession hit. Last summer, 36% of people under age 50 polled by the Pew Research Center who said they did not plan to have children said they couldn’t afford to raise a child.