CDC reports first increase in U.S. birth rate since 2007

The U.S. birth rate rose 0.6% in 2014 to 62.9 per 1,000 women, the first increase since 2007, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Birth rates rose 3% for Asian/Pacific Islander women and 1% for white women, and declined 9% for teens, 3% for American Indian/Alaska Native women and 1% for Hispanic women. The Cesarean delivery rate declined 1.5% in 2014 to 32.2% of all births. Cesarean rates for African American, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander women fell for the first time since 1996, by about 1%. The percentage of infants born before 37 weeks of gestation declined by 0.5% in 2014, to 9.57%, and is down 8% since 2007.