Monthly Vital Statistics Reports

Advance Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1993

Just over 4 million births were registered in the United States in 1993, according to a recent report released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Advance Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1993, presents updated statistics on the characteristics and number of births made available on birth certificates filed in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

Data Highlights:

• Births in the U.S. declined in 1993 for the third consecutive year, to 4,000,240.
• After rising steadily for almost two decades, birth rates for women in their thirties appear to have stabilized. Still, there were more births to women in this age group than ever, exceeding 900,000, and the number of births to women aged 35-39 years (357,000), was higher than in any year since 1960.
• Essentially unchanged for 3 consecutive years, births to unmarried women in 1993 comprised 24 percent of white births, 69 percent of black births, and 40 percent of Hispanic births.
• More than 100,000 babies were born in multiple deliveries in 1993, the highest number ever reported. Live births in twin deliveries increased 1 percent (96,445), while other plural births rose 7 percent. A substantial proportion of these increases are the result of fertility-enhancing techniques.