CB00-FF.06                                                  May 3, 2000

                        Mother's Day, 2000: May 14


How Many Children Do Mothers Have?
 
-  Among the 35 million mothers in the United States ages 15 to 44 in
   1998, 10.7 million had one child, 14.3 million had two, 6.7 million had
   three and 3.3 million had four or more. 

-  Women ages 40 to 44 in 1998 had an average of 1.9 children each.
   Hispanic women in this age group had 2.4 children each, African
   American women, 2.0 and White women, 1.8. 

-  Perhaps Idaho should be known for more than just potatoes. As of 1998,
   there were 1,623 births to every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in the Gem
   State -- among the highest birth rates in the nation. Women in the
   District of Columbia and Vermont had some of the lowest rates, 823 and
   975 births per 1,000 women of childbearing ages, respectively. These
   rates were not significantly different from one another.

-  In 1998, women in the 15- to 44-year-old age range in Alabama, Alaska,
   Idaho, Mississippi and Wyoming were among the most likely to be
   mothers. About 64 percent in each state had given birth at least once.
   Those in this age range in the District of Columbia were among the
   least likely to be moms: 38 percent had given birth at least once.
   Among states, those in Vermont and Massachusetts were among the
   least likely to be moms: 48 percent in Vermont and 49 percent in
   Massachusetts had given birth at least once. The proportion for the
   District of Columbia does not differ significantly from those of
   Vermont and Massachusetts.

-  In 1997, 41 percent of the births that took place were the mother's
   first, 32 percent were her second, 16 percent, her third and 
   10 percent, her fourth.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

Where Births Take Place

-  We tend to assume that all births occur in the hospital. While this is
   usually the case, it is not always true. In 1996, there were 26,000
   births nationwide, attended by physicians, midwives or others, that did
   not occur in hospitals. That was down from 39,000 in 1985.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

Working Moms  


-  As of 1998, the majority (59 percent) of women ages 15 to 44 who had
   given birth in the previous year had returned to the labor force. In
   1980, this group was 38 percent.

Moms Raising Children Without a Husband

-  In 1998, a ratio of more than 1 in 5 never-married women ages 15 to 44
   were mothers. 

-  In Mississippi, 46 percent of births in 1997 were to unmarried women
   the highest rate of any state in the nation. Utah, at 17 percent, had
   the lowest rate. The national average was 32 percent.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

-  The number of single mothers in the United States 9.8 million in 1998
   has not changed since 1995 after nearly tripling over the previous
   quarter century. Last year, single mothers comprised about five-sixths
   of all single parents. They constituted 26 percent of all parent-child
   families in 1998, up from 12 percent in 1970.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html

-  A ratio of 1 in 5 single mothers was raising three or more of their own
   children in 1998.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html

-  Most single mothers (7.7 million or 78 percent) maintained their own
   household in 1998. The remainder lived in the home of either a relative
   or a nonrelative. The majority of single mothers who maintained their
   own household (69 percent) did not have another adult in the home to
   help them out.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html

-  In 1998, 42 percent of single mothers had never married.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-228.html

Teen Moms

-  It's not exactly the norm for women to become mothers before they
   celebrate their 20th birthday, but it's not uncommon either. As of 1998, 
   948,000 women ages 15 to 19   or about 1 in 10 women in this age
   range were mothers. 

-  And in 1997, 13 percent of all births nationwide were to teens.
   Mississippi, at 21 percent, had the highest rate among states, while
   Massachusetts, at 7 percent, had the lowest.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

Twins

-  Women giving birth in 1996 had a 1-in-40 chance of delivering twins
   and a 1-in-650 chance of triplets or other multiple births.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

Fortysomethings

-  As of June 1998, nearly 120,000 women (3 percent) who had given
   birth during the previous year were in their 40s, double the fewer than
   60,000 (2 percent) in this category in 1980.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html

Motherhood Around the World

-  For countries with 10 million or more persons, projected 2000
   fertility rates worldwide range from a high of 6.99 births per woman
   in Yemen to 1.25 in Italy.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-238.html


Mother's Day Cards

-  In 1997, the nation's greeting card publishers shipped $212 million
   worth of Mother's Day cards, up from $148 million in 1992. Fourteen
   companies shipped $100,000 or more worth of these cards. For the sake
   of comparison, shipments of Mother's Day cards exceeded those of
   Easter cards ($116 million) but lagged somewhat behind shipments of
   Valentine's Day cards ($277 million) and considerably behind shipments
   of Christmas cards ($571 million).
   http://www.census.gov/prod/ec97/97m5111e.pdf

The preceding facts come from the Current Population Survey, the
Statistical Abstract of the United States and the 1997 Economic Census.
The data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
Previous 2000 Census Bureau Facts for Features: African American History
Month (February), Valentine's Day (February 14), Women's History Month
(March), Census Day (April 1) and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
(May). Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's
Public Information Office (tel: 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; e-mail:
pio@census.gov).