An official website of the United States government
Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth – B Listing
- Birth control – See Contraception
- Births (mothers)
- Births (fathers)
- Birth expectations
- Breast-feeding
Births (mothers)
Age at first birth
| 20021 | 2006-20102 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age at first birth for women 15-44 years of age who ever had a liveborn child | 22.9 | 23.0 | 23.1 (0.16) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 7 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Marital or cohabiting status of mother at time of birth
Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status of women 15-44 years of age when their first child was born:
| 20021 | 2006-20102 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married | 62.3% | 54.4% | 50.1% (1.29) |
| Cohabiting | 12.4% | 21.9% | 25.8% (0.96) |
| Unmarried and not cohabiting | 25.3% | 23.6% | 24.1% (0.88) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 11 [PDF 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status at birth for births occurring in the 5 years before interview to women 15-44 years of age:
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married | 64.4% | 59.7% | 61.2% (1.54) |
| Cohabiting | 14.3% | 23.4% | 26.2% (1.17) |
| Unmarried and not cohabiting | 21.3% | 16.9% | 12.6% (0.78) |
Sources:
1 NHSR No. 51, Table 12 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Number of children ever born (parity)
Percent distribution of women 40-44 years of age by number of children ever born:
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No children | 15.0% | 15.4% | 15.0% (1.21) |
| One child | 18.0% | 15.2% | 16.8% (1.35) |
| Two children | 31.6% | 35.0% | 33.7% (1.78) |
| Three children | 20.7% | 20.2% | 22.0% (1.54) |
| Four or more children | 14.4% | 14.2% | 12.6% (1.24) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 3 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Premarital/nonmarital status of births
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of mothers (women 15-44 years of age who ever had a birth) that have ever had a nonmarital birth | 42.2% | 49.3% | 54.0% (1.24) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 13 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Births (fathers)
Age at first birth fathered
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age at the birth of their first biological child for men 15-44 years of age who ever fathered a biological child | 25.1 | 25.1 | 25.5 (0.16) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 7 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Marital or cohabiting status of father at time of birth
Marital or cohabiting status of father when his first child was born for men 15-44 years of age (who had ever fathered a child):
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currently or formerly married to the child’s mother | 66.2% | 58.6% | 57.2% (1.43) |
| Cohabiting with the child’s mother | 18.2% | 25.4% | 26.4% (1.09) |
| Unmarried and not cohabiting with the child’s mother | 15.6% | 16.0% | 16.4% (0.90) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 11 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Number of biological children ever fathered
Percent distribution of men 40-44 years of age by number of children ever fathered:
| 20021 | 2006-20102 | 2011-20153 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No children | 22.4% | 23.6% | 19.6% (1.48) |
| One child | 19.9% | 18.2% | 20.2% (1.44) |
| Two children | 25.0% | 31.2% | 30.9% (1.89) |
| Three or more children | 32.7% | 26.9% | 29.3% (1.64) |
Sources:
1Series 23, No 26, Table 4 [PDF – 3.3 MB]
2NHSR No. 51. Table 4 [PDF – 543 KB]
3Special tabulation by NCHS
Birth expectations
Average number of children expected by men and women in their lifetimes:
| 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women 15-44 years of age | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 (0.02) |
| Men 15-44 years of age | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 (0.03) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 5 [PDF -543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Percent distribution of women 15-44 years of age by expected number of births in their lifetimes:
| Percentage of women who expect: | 20021 | 2006-20101 | 2011-20152 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No births | 8.9% | 8.3% | 9.5% (0.47) |
| 1 birth | 13.4% | 12.5% | 12.5% (0.45) |
| 2 births | 42.1% | 40.9% | 41.3% (0.81) |
| 3 births | 22.1% | 24.0% | 23.3% (0.63) |
| 4 or more births | 13.5% | 14.3% | 13.3% ( 0.65) |
Sources:
1NHSR No. 51, Table 6 [PDF – 543 KB]
2Special tabulation by NCHS
Breast-feeding
Initiation of breast-feeding
| Singleton babies born in 2008-2010 |
Singleton babies born in 2011-2013 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Percent who were breast-fed at all | 73.1% (1.54) | 78.6% (1.84) |
Source: Special tabulation by NCHS based on 2011-2015 NSFG for Health US 2017 report.
Duration of breast-feeding
| Singleton babies born 2008-2010 | Singleton babies born 2011-2013 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Percent who were breast-fed 3 months or more | 50.2% (1.84) | 56.6% (2.01) |
Source: Special tabulation by NCHS based on 2011-2015 NSFG for Health US 2017 report