U.S. Births Hit Record High

March 18, 2009 -- More than 4.3 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2007, the highest number ever registered by the CDC.

That's according to the CDC's preliminary data on 2007 births.

The new CDC birth statistics show a rise in the birth rate for women 15-44, new records for births to unmarried women and for C-sections, and slight drops in the rate of preterm births and low-birthweight babies.

The details:

• Total number of births: 4,317,119 -- that's 1% more than in 2006.
• General fertility rate (live births per 1,000 women 15-44): Up 1% in 2007 to 69.5 births per 1,000 women 15-44, the highest level since 1990.
• Teen birth rate (15-19) rose by about 1% in 2007 to 42.5 per 1,000 teen women.
• Birth rate for women 20-24: Up by less than 1% in 2007 to 106.4 per 1,000 women.
• Birth rate for women 25-29: Up by 1% in 2007 to 117.5 per 1,000 women.
• Birth rate for women 30-34: Up by 2% to 99.9 births per 1,000 women.
• Birth rate for women 35-39: Up by less than 1% to 47.5 per 1,000 women.
• Birth rate from women 40-44: Up by 1% in 2007 to 9.5 births per 1,000 women.
• Birth rate for unmarried women 15-44: Up by 5% in 2007 to 52.9 births per 1,000 unmarried women.
• C-section delivery rate: Up by 2% in 2007 to nearly 32% of all births. That's another record high for C-section deliveries, and 2007 was the 11th straight year that the C-section rate rose.

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