More unmarried women in the USA are having babies than ever before. This does not mean more teens, it just means more unmarried women. In fact, teens having babies only make up 24% of that total – in 1970 half of all unmarried mothers giving births were teens.
The age group that has seen the biggest rise in unmarried births is 25-29. Many of them are happily living with their partners – they just have not decided to get married. This is not the case with teens who give birth, more than four fifths of them do not live with a partner.
35.7% of all babies in 2004 were born to women who were not married – a total of 1,470,152 (in 2003 it was 1,415,995).
More women are waiting longer to have babies. 1% more women aged 30-34 had babies in 2004 compared to 2003 (the 35-39 age group increased 4%, 40-44 increased 3%).
Many women have written in to Medical News Today pointing out that having a baby out of wedlock does not mean the baby was unplanned. Nearly every unmarried mother who wrote to us had a supporting partner during the time of the birth.
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today