[$tinkle]

msnbc.com

More U.S. babies entered the world in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history, even surpassing the number of deliveries during the height of the baby boom that followed World War II, according to federal data released Wednesday.

The number of births represents a 1 percent increase over the year prior and experts say the rise in birth rates indicates that the current generation is more than replenishing itself.

Yet some advocates are concerned about statistics that indicate another year's rise in teen births, after hitting an all-time low in 2005, and a record number of births to unwed mothers.

The U.S. birth rate for teenagers 15 to 17 years old rose in 2007 by about 1 percent, to 22.2 births per 1,000 girls, according to the data from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"There's been a lot of messaging to teens: Sow your wild oats, do whatever you want to do in high school," said Julie Baumgardner, executive director of First Things First, a nonprofit that focuses on strengthening families in Hamilton County. "This is babies having babies, and they're not ready to be parents."

Overall, the record number of babies born in 2007 is no big surprise, said Dr. Douglas Bachtel, a demographer at the University of Georgia.

"Our population numbers are at an all-time high. As a result, there would be an increase in the number of women of childbearing age," he said.

An influx of immigrants and a growing minority population -- groups that tend to have higher fertility rates -- also would have contributed to a higher birth rate, he said.

In 2007, general fertility rates increased in all racial groups by 1 percent, to 69.5 births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44, the highest level since 1990.

The year's total fertility rate, a projection of average family size assuming the current statistics remain constant, is 2.1 children per mother.

Those rates are only slightly higher than past years, and the increase can hardly compare to the enormous societal impact of the post-World War II baby boom, experts say.

After the war, the total fertility rate skyrocketed to almost four children per woman, and the record number of births came from a smaller population of women, the Associated Press reported.

By comparison, the data from 2007 represents a small change, said Brady Hamilton, lead author of the report on birth rates, in an phone interview Wednesday.

"At the best, it's a very, very, very minor baby boom," he said.

UNWED MOTHERS

But some of that boom is being absorbed by single mothers.

In 2007, births to unwed mothers hit a record high of nearly 40 percent, continuing a rising trend that has likely been fueled by a lessening of the stigma on single parenthood, said Dr. Bachtel.

"We've seen some phenomenal growth rates in births to unwed mothers," Dr. Bachtel said. "It's become kind of socially acceptable."

More than three-quarters of those unmarried mothers were over age 20, an improvement over decades ago, according to the report. In 1975, teenage mothers made up more than half of all nonmarital births.

so, it seems that traditional marriage is not quite as lauded, valued, or sought after as in recent generations. moreover, it seems that families aren't being as planned.

i'm sure a lot of this falls on the shoulders of travis henry (and of course octomom)

if you listen closely, you can hear bill o'reilly, the culture warrior, getting suited up

 

[kidwoo]

2007 u.s. birthrates the highest; what do the numbers reveal?

That I really will die a crazy old man with a shotgun and my back up against a cave wall, firing everytime I hear a custom ringtone.

 

[ohio]

msnbc.comso, it seems that traditional marriage is not quite as lauded, valued, or sought after as in recent generations. moreover, it seems that families aren't being as planned.

Actually, if the article is correct and minorities + recent immigrants are at the core of the increase, then it's not because traditional marriage isn't valued. Those groups tend to value traditional marriage quite highly. See Prop 8 vote in Cali.

Trying really hard not to point to the failure of abstinence education.

 

[stevew]

Trying really hard not to point to the failure of abstinence education.

when bristol palin grows up she is going to be a great looking single mom stripper.

i'll have a stack of ones ready when she comes to town on the circuit.

 

[$tinkle]

Trying really hard not to point to the failure of abstinence education.

kind of hard to push a policy that's based upon a distant & sadly undervalued view of sexual purity.

i'm sure obama helped out a lot when he quipped about how tragic it would be for one of his daughters to be burdened with a mistake [of an unplanned pregnancy].

if the unborn's very life isn't valued as anything but a 'choice', then how hard can it be to view one's individual sexual choice?

but, abstinence only education i believe is targeted toward today's youth, not the 30-somethings who are on the uptick in out-of-wedlock births.

it makes teh baby dobson cry

 

[$tinkle]

when bristol palin grows up she is going to be a great looking single mom stripper.

i see you have a healthy "ass half full" attitude

 

[jimmydean]

I think abstinence is a bad choice. While I'm not a fan of free love and all that hippie crap, my wife and I have agreed we will teach our daughter to respect herself and her sexuality while being smart about it.

You can't stop the flood of hormones, you can only hope to control the flow. Waiting for marriage to have sex is worse than buying a car before you have a license.

 

[$tinkle]

like most analogies, they make sense up to a point.

how many drivers licenses does your daughter plan to have for each car?

 

[$tinkle]

if we're going to take the car analogy one further, here's some other things i plan to have my daughter ponder on:

"which is better? to give yourself to your husband in a new, or used, condition? do you plan on having more than one owner? do you plan on your husband having more than one wife?"

 

[jimmydean]

So you feel sex has nothing to do with a happy marriage outside of making babies? Wow, your bedroom must be a joy!

If you don't have sex until after you are married, how do you know if you are even compatible in the bedroom? How do you know what you like/dislike? What are your expectations?

Don't you think if you are as freaky as your partner that you stand a better chance of keeping them happy? If they are happy in the bedroom, they are less likely to seek it outside the marriage.

Seriously, if you don't know what you like, how do you know what you will love?

 

[ohio]

"which is better? to give yourself to your husband in a new, or used, condition?

I would be legitimately freaked out to marry a virgin. No way, not a chance.

 

[stevew]

If you don't have sex until after you are married, how do you know if you are even compatible in the bedroom? How do you know what you like/dislike? What are your expectations?

yeah...what happens when the groom to be is shocked when the missus pushes his legs back to his chest and starts chowing down on his asshole.....

honey...shouldn't you be sucking my penis?

 

[$tinkle]

So you feel sex has nothing to do with a happy marriage outside of making babies? Wow, your bedroom must be a joy!

not at all my position. it's my position that sex makes a marriage bond stronger with its unique experience (for those for whom it is unique)

If you don't have sex until after you are married, how do you know if you are even compatible in the bedroom? How do you know what you like/dislike? What are your expectations?

i didn't say "don't talk about it with great anticipation"

Don't you think if you are as freaky as your partner that you stand a better chance of keeping them happy? If they are happy in the bedroom, they are less likely to seek it outside the marriage.

if marriage is built upon sacrifice & trust, it makes sense to me the freaky-deaky will ensue

Seriously, if you don't know what you like, how do you know what you will love?

my wife & i would greatly value that we've experimented with just ourselves.

of course, you caught that i wrote 'would', and not 'do', as i'm a re-tread.
she, however, is not

I would be legitimately freaked out to marry a virgin. No way, not a chance.

then get married on horseback in a high country steeplechase & have the reception @ one of those gymboree joints w/ trampolines.

 

[jimmydean]

I would be legitimately freaked out to marry a virgin. No way, not a chance.

I dated a virgin after my divorce. She was a good girl, went to a Christan college, saving herself, blah, blah, blah.

After a few months, she decided why not and we started having sex on a regular basis. But after a year it was obvious we wouldn't last because she was happy because even though we were only 2 years apart in age (she was 22, I was 24), we were light years apart sexually and she would have never caught up.

While the idea of a new car is great, you never buy the first production year either.

 

[$tinkle]

While the idea of a new car is great, you never buy the first production year either.

as a vw owner, i should have known that

 

[jimmydean]

my wife & i would greatly value that we've experimented with just ourselves.

So what happens when you find out you love doggy style with the lights on and she prefers women? Wouldn't this information seem important to know before hand?

 

[$tinkle]

So what happens when you find out you love doggy style with the lights on and she prefers women? Wouldn't this information seem important to know before hand?

i guess i start wearing her clothes




oh, wait.....

 

[jimmydean]

So another look at it:

Would you decide to move to China and live there without first trying the food? I mean, sure you could live there and not be forced to live on Chinese food, but wouldn't life be a lot better and happier if you LOVED the food, too?

 

[$tinkle]

So another look at it:

Would you decide to move to China and live there without first trying the food? I mean, sure you could live there and not be forced to live on Chinese food, but wouldn't life be a lot better and happier if you LOVED the food, too?

a food analogy? srsly?

does the variety of food parallel pages 1-45 of the kama sutra?
if i don't have any food at all will i still live?
would i be hungry half-an hour after going american pie on general tsao?
will one meal ask me if it tasted better than the previous ones i've eaten? (my favorite analogy thus far)

 

[Westy]

With the rising rates of obesity in the country my guess is people need to be drunker to be able to have sex. Drunks are less likely to properly apply birth control. I'm guessing the surge of new babies will most likely be uglier than normal.

 

[$tinkle]

one more: in communist china, mu-shu porks you

 

[JohnE]

Birthrates are higher means people like to ****...and dont ponder the consequences first. And dont look for it to get any better when OctoMom is out there making money off being a brood mare, and the Jim Bob Duggars of the world have reality shows based on his wifes clown car of a vagina. Until having children is no longer a money making proposal (As it has been for a long time, since we were an agrarian society...), it wont change...

 

[$tinkle]

from teh article:

RECESSION SLOW-DOWN?

As the economic recession continues, the rising birth rates may not last, experts say.

"I expect they'll go back down," Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health, told the Associated Press. "The lowest birth rates recorded in the United States occurred during the Great Depression -- and that was before modern contraception."

Many who lose their jobs also lose their health insurance, said Margaret Major, director of women's health for the Tennessee Department of Health. For couples in the baby-planning mode, a loss of insurance could encourage some to hold off on child-bearing, she said.

On the other hand, less insurance coverage could mean less access to contraception, resulting in more unplanned pregnancies, she said.

"It could go either way," she said.

PP was just off campus @ the local h.s. earlier in the week handing out dong bags to all the zitfaced

 

[ohio]

These analogies aren't working for me. Let's try again.

Sex is like shopping: you want it cheap and fast, but you'll end up doing whatever she wants
Sex is bowling: it's gross to put your feet in used shoes, and you suck at it, but it's fun. And you're not about to buy your own ball unless your some kind of wierdo.
Sex is like hummus: it looks disgusting but it's delicious and good for you
Sex is like mountain bikes: your first one sucks but it's enough to get you hooked
Sex is like the internet: it's better if you don't know who you're doing it with.

I can do this all day, folks.

 

[$tinkle]

when i think about it, i guess it is like mtn bikes:
you get into it w/o consideration for maintenance costs
you can't always ride when you want
when you do it wrong you get chafed
you have to butter up before a long sesh
you post highlight pix to your mates
you compare other rides & wonder what it's like
replacement costs are considerable, you remember what it was like in your 20's when you could ride 3x/day
you now ride only once/week out of guilt
it's still fun as a group
a good ride is measured by how muddy & bloody you are
you don't ride anything that's too white or too black
you'll pay a dear price if you don't wear protection
you teach your kids by doing it with them

 

[ohio]

when i think about it, i guess it is like mtn bikes:

I really think hummus is more accurate

 

[Defenestrated]

Abstinence only education is really paying off I see.

Keep demonizing what's between their legs and they will rebel, tell them thou shalt not have sex and they will.

When given a chance, you might find that knowledge and understanding are much more powerful tools.

 

[Ironjunk]

I think with text messages at record high, hooking up is easier then ever. More kids with cell phones, more poking goes on.

 

[skinny mike]

i blame octomom.

 

[$tinkle]

I really think hummus is more accurate

do you work in an omaha nursing home for the criminally insane?

Abstinence only education is really paying off I see.

the biggest problem w/ that is we're trying to force behavior on a set of people who don't all ascribe to the morals upon which it's built.

 

[jimmydean]

the biggest problem w/ that is we're trying to force behavior on a set of people who don't all ascribe to the morals upon which it's built.

Yes, if only kids could be held to the standards of the Roman Catholic priesthood. Oh wait, holding kids to priests might be a problem.

 

[Westy]

...holding kids to priests might be a problem.

Just tape them to the priests.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

the biggest problem w/ that is we're trying to force behavior on a set of people who don't all ascribe to the morals upon which it's built.

Yep...and when teh big whitey goes to a disease ravaged continent and spews forth teh crap...you reap what you sow...

You can't make this sh*t up...

 

[$tinkle]

pfft...you can't believe what you read on foxnews

 

[Secret Squirrel]

pfft...you can't believe what you read on foxnews

Eh...it was the first result...and I didn't want to delve into NPR's website...so suck it...you won't get pregnant that way...unless you're blond...

 

[$tinkle]

in this cash-strapped economy, competing ideas are fleshing it out:

With the Economy Down, Vasectomy Rates Are Up

More women needing cash go from jobless to topless

 

[jimmydean]

in this cash-strapped economy, competing ideas are fleshing it out:

With the Economy Down, Vasectomy Rates Are Up

More women needing cash go from jobless to topless

Oregon is all nude, topless doesn't pay sh!t here.

 

[manimal]

Actually, if the article is correct and minorities + recent immigrants are at the core of the increase, then it's not because traditional marriage isn't valued. Those groups tend to value traditional marriage quite highly. See Prop 8 vote in Cali.

this may be true for the, traditionally catholic, hispanic immigrant population but not the african american community:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/about/aami_marriage_statistics.htm

Black males and females are more likely to be unmarried than Whites, Hispanics, or American Indian/Alaskan Natives (AIAN) (42.2% for males, 40.8% for females, compared to 27.5% and 21.2% respectively for Whites, 38.2% and 30.3% for Hispanics, and 35.7% ad 29.9% for AIAN ).(ACS 2002)

Black families are less likely to contain a married couple than all other groups (46.0% versus 81.0%). White families have an 81% chance of containing a married couple, AIAN families have a 67% chance, and Hispanics have a 67.4% chance. (Census 2000)

Single female-headed families are far more likely in Black homes than in all other groups' homes (45.4% versus 13.7%). By contrast, Whites have a 13.7% rate, AIANs have a 28.8% rate, and Hispanics have a 22.3% rate of single female headed families. (Census 2000)

Of course the "why" of these statistics can probably be contained in the argument of institutionalized racism, but the fact remains that the baby boom among some minorities has been there for a long time.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

a food analogy? srsly?

does the variety of food parallel pages 1-45 of the kama sutra?

To a Gourmet, yes. To a Gourmand, no.

 

[ohio]

this may be true for the, traditionally catholic, hispanic immigrant population but not the african american community:

Yup, something I'm well aware of, however, not adhering to traditional marriage doesn't mean they don't value it. There's no shortage of hypocrisy there, but the black population voted 70% for Prop 8. For a population that doesn't value marriage, they certainly value the traditional version of it.