US Births Break Record; 40 Percent Out-of-Wedlock

". . .Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row. The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older."

"'For a variety of reasons, it's become more acceptable for women to have babies without a husband,' said Duke University's S. Philip Morgan, a leading fertility researcher. Even happy couples may be living together without getting married, experts say. And more women - especially those in their 30s and 40s - are choosing to have children despite their single status."