National Survey of Family Growth

Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth – B Listing

 

Births (as reported by women)

Age at first birth

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Age in years (SE)
Mean age at first birth for women 15-49 years of age who ever had a liveborn child 24.1 (0.18) 24.2 (0.21)

Note: The NSFG public-use files include a recode AGEBABY1 indicating age at first birth in whole years.  A more precise mean age at first birth was calculated using the century month date of first birth (available on restricted-use files).

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Had a birth before age 20

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Percentage of women 15-49 who had a birth before 20 years of age 27.3 (1.49) 27.2 (1.50)

 

Number of children ever born (parity)

Percent distribution of women 15-49 and 40-49 years of age by number of children ever born:

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Women 15-49
Women 40-49
Women 15-49
Women 40-49
Percent (SE)
No children 41.9 (1.21) 14.9 (1.50) 44.8 (1.24) 16.9 (1.28)
One child 16.5 (0.80) 17.6 (1.79) 16.2 (0.68) 17.6 (1.48)
Two children 22.5 (0.88) 34.4 (2.01) 20.7 (0.81) 32.7 (1.62)
Three children 12.7 (0.73) 21.9 (2.12) 12.2 (0.65) 22.6 (1.41)
Four or more children    6.3 (0.60) 11.2 (1.61) 6.0 (0.59) 10.1 (1.22)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Marital or cohabiting status of mother at time of birth

Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status of women 15-49 years of age when their first child was born:

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Currently or formerly married 53.9 (1.99) 50.9 (1.44)
Cohabiting 23.7 (1.42) 24.1 (1.03)
Unmarried and not cohabiting 22.5 (1.34) 25.0 (1.45)

Note: Marital or cohabiting status here refers to opposite-sex spouses or partners

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status at birth for births occurring in the 5 years before interview to women 15-49 years of age:

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Currently or formerly married 61.3 (2.29) 61.0 (1.97)
Cohabiting 26.4 (1.98) 26.3 (1.44)
Unmarried and not cohabiting 12.4 (1.17) 12.7 (1.20)

Note: Marital or cohabiting status here refers to opposite-sex spouses or partners

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Premarital/nonmarital status of births

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Percentage of women 15-49 years of age who ever had a birth who have ever had a nonmarital birth 49.5 (1.93) 52.6 (1.58)

Note: Marital status here refers to opposite-sex spouses

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Births (as reported by men)

Age at first birth he fathered

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Mean age at the birth of first biological child for men 15-49 years of age who ever fathered a biological child 26.5 (0.21) 26.6 (0.22)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Fathered a biological child before age 20

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Percentage of men 15-49 who have ever fathered a biological child before 20 years of age 10.7 (1.00) 10.4 (0.96)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Number of biological children ever fathered

Percent distribution of men aged 15-49 and 40-49 by number of biological children they ever fathered:

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Men 15-49
Men 40-49
Men 15-49
Men 40-49
Percent (SE)
No children 55.3 (1.48) 23.3 (1.96) 55.7 (1.72) 23.6 (1.61)
One child 15.1 (0.99) 18.4 (1.90) 14.0 (0.66) 16.7 (1.50)
Two children 16.6 (1.04) 31.8 (2.45) 18.2 (1.03) 33.6 (1.94)
Three or more children 13.0 (0.94) 26.4 (2.19) 12.2 (0.88) 26.0 (1.87)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Marital or cohabiting status of father at time of birth

Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status of men 15-49 years of age when their first biological child was born:

B Listing Table
2015-2017 2017-2019
Percent (SE)
Currently or formerly married to the child’s mother 60.1 (2.14) 61.0 (1.97)
Cohabiting with the child’s mother 26.1 (1.81) 26.3 (1.44)
Unmarried and not cohabiting with the child’s mother 13.8 (1.20) 12.7 (1.20)

Note: Marital or cohabiting status here refers to opposite-sex spouses or partners

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Birth expectations among women and men

Average number of births expected by women and men in their lifetimes

B Listing Tables
2015-2017 2017-2019
Women
Men
Women
Men
Percent (SE)
Average number of births
expected
2.2 (0.05) 2.1 (0.06) 2.1 (0.04) 2.1 (0.03)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Percent distribution of women and men 15-49 years of age by expected number of births in their lifetimes

B Listing Tables
2015-2017 2017-2019
Women
Men
Women
Men
Percentage expecting: Percent (SE)
No births 10.9 (0.68) 14.2 (0.81) 13.0 (0.82) 14.9 (0.79)
1 birth 14.2 (0.83) 14.7 (0.91) 14.6 (0.64) 14.8 (0.70)
2 births 38.1 (0.95) 38.9 (1.24) 38.7 (1.04) 40.8 (0.99)
3 births 24.7 (0.95) 20.5 (0.92) 22.4 (0.93) 19.5 (0.85)
4 or more births 12.1 (1.29) 10.7 (1.45) 11.3 (0.72) 10.1 (0.68)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Breastfeeding

Initiation of breastfeeding

B Listing Table
Singleton babies born
2014-2016
Percentage of babies who were breastfed at all 82.4 (1.24)

Note: These births occurred in 2014-2016 to mothers aged 15-49 at time of interview in 2015-2019.

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS

Duration of breastfeeding

B Listing Table
Singleton babies born
2014-2016
Percentage of babies who were breastfed 3 months
or more
62.2 (1.68)

Note: These births occurred in 2014-2016 to mothers aged 15-49 at time of interview in 2015-2019.

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS