Family Law

Out-of-Wedlock Births on the Rise in U.S.

By Ben Stevens

Did you know that nearly 40 percent of babies born in the United States in 2007 were born to unwed mothers?  The National Center for Health Statistics reports that of 4.3 million total births, 1.7 million were out-of-wedlock births, which marked a more than 25 percent increase from just five years before.

The percentage of unwed mothers varied widely among the different races: 28 percent of white women, 72 percent of black women, and more than 51 percent of Latina women gave birth out-of-wedlock.

More often than not, it is the unwed mothers who end up raising the children.  A 2008 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau found there are 9.8 million single mothers compared to only 1.8 million single fathers.

Source:  "Out-of-Wedlock Births Hit Record High" by Jessica Ravitz, published at CNN.com.

Full post as published by SC Family Law Blog on April 22, 2009 (boomark / email).