Fewer Teen Moms but More Babies Born to Single Moms Than Ever

Rachel Sheffield / December 22, 2010

Yesterday, The Washington Post heralded the decline in teeth birth rates, stating:

As the nation continued to struggle in the recession in 2009, the rate at which U.S. women are having babies continued to fall, pushing the teen birth rate to a record low, federal officials reported Tuesday.

While a decrease in the teen birth rate is good and well, such news seems to portray the idea that single motherhood in the United States is on the downturn. However, just the opposite is true. In fact, the number of children born to single mothers is on the rise and has been since the 1960s. In 1964, fewer than 10 percent of babies were born to single mothers. Today that number is above 40 percent for the overall population and even higher among Hispanics and African Americans (50 and 70 percent, respectively). (more…)