Experts point to falling birth rates as the latest sign of a poor economy. The numbers alone, however, aren’t a bad omen for the children who make it into the world, says a Hickory public health authority.
The greater Hickory area’s birth rates are on track to fall in 2010 for the third consecutive year. In 2009 in Catawba, Alexander, Burke and Caldwell counties, we had 11 births for every 1,000 people.
That’s down from 13 in 2008. And if the average number of babies born this year persists, the area will see 10 births for every 1,000 people.
The numbers reflect a national trend, although the U.S. rates are slightly higher.
In 2009, the nation’s births fell to their lowest level in a century – about 13.5 babies per 1,000 people. In 2007, that number was 14.3.
“When the economy is bad and people are uncomfortable about their financial future,” sociologist Andrew Cherlin told the Associated Press. “We saw that in the Great Depression in the 1930s, and we’re seeing that in the Great Recession today.”
Results of a 2009 survey from the Guttmacher Institute back up the theory.
Nearly half of the 1,000 U.S. women surveyed by the institute said they wanted to delay getting pregnant or limit the number of children they have because of current economic concerns.
The Guttmacher Institute conducts social science research, policy analysis and educational programs pertaining to sexual and reproductive health.
Whatever the reasons, fewer births could be good news about mothers and children, said Sarah Gareau, the director of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s new master of public health program.
“The decrease in the birth rate may indicate that more women are planning their pregnancies, which is a positive indicator for both maternal and child health,” Gareau said.
She offers this example: A woman knows she wants to have a baby, so she takes folic acid, which helps prevent brain and spinal cord birth defects and needs to be taken a month before she gets pregnant, as well as during the first three months.
Research consistently shows women whose pregnancies are intended get prenatal care earlier than women who didn’t mean to get pregnant.
Gareau said planned pregnancies also could lessen instances of child poverty, delinquency and the ability of parents to provide for the developmental health of a child.
The Associated Press reports contributed to this report.
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