Opinion Pieces Discuss CDC Report Showing Rise In U.S. Birth Rate In 2007

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Abortion
Article Date: 01 Apr 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Two newspapers recently included opinion pieces responding to the release of federal data on the U.S. birth rate, which increased across all age groups in 2007. Summaries appear below.

~ Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times: Although the federal report shows that the "[q]uantity of births" is up, the "[q]uality of births, i.e., home environment" is "[p]robably down," Times columnist Wetzstein writes in an opinion piece, noting that the birth rate rose among unmarried women and teens. She continues that the report "also shows a genuine rejection of abortion and an intentional delay of marriage." The "good news" in the report is that the U.S. fertility rate "is a healthy, enviable 2.1 births per 1,000 women," which "means our population is perfectly stable -- we are having just enough babies to replace ourselves," she says. "Having ample numbers of young Americans in the pipeline means our prospects for economic growth, innovation and prosperity are excellent," according to Wetzstein. However, the "current social acceptance of fatherless homes and/or cohabitating homes is a catastrophe for our country," she writes. She continues that the data "reflect a rejection of abortion," noting that "birth rates are rising while abortion rates keep dropping." She concludes, "The big question remains how to get more young couples to do what Grandma and Grandpa did, which is to marry first so there are four loving arms ready to welcome each baby" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 3/29).

~ Maureen Callahan, New York Post: In light of the recent government report on birth rates, "[i]t would seem logical to infer ... that the country is undergoing several tectonic shifts: the potential advent of a new, bigger baby boom;" a "dearth of husbands and fathers;" a preference for elective cesarean sections; and a "dramatic spike" in immigration, Post contributor Callahan writes in an opinion piece. In fact, the report "supports none of these theories," according to Callahan. She writes that although the report showed an increase in births to unmarried women, it is not known whether "these women are cohabitating with a partner; divorced, widowed or separated; highly educated career women or high school drop-outs living in poverty; surrogates, etc." She continues that "what we do know is that the increase in much older mothers indicates deliberative thought and family planning," noting that experts believe the birth rate increase among older women "is as much an employment story -- working women who have the resources to have a child are having children, with ever-lessening stigma." Callahan says that the rise in the number of births by c-section -- which accounted for 31.8% of all births -- "would seem to support the notion that more women are voluntarily opting for caesareans over natural childbirth." However, maternal request represents only a fraction of 1% of c-section births, according to Eugene Declercq, a professor of maternal and child health at Boston University who worked with HHS on the report. Callahan also discusses myths surrounding immigration, adding that demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institute reports that the birth rate among Hispanics, not immigration, is what is increasing the group's numbers in the U.S. population. Callahan challenges the media's portrayal of the 2007 birth rate as a "baby boom." She writes, "At best, this is a boomlet -- but even that may be hyperbolic," adding that "[b]irth rates tend to spike in economically healthy and optimistic times, and to decline steeply during times of economic crisis" (Callahan, New York Post, 3/29).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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