Largest declines in babies born in California, Florida

ATLANTA — There aren’t just fewer jobs in a recession. There are fewer babies, too.


U.S. births fell in 2008, the first full year of the recession, marking the first annual decline in births since the start of the decade and ending an American baby boomlet.

The downturn in the economy best explains the drop in maternity, some experts believe. The Great Depression and subsequent recessions all were accompanied by a decline in births, said Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health and epidemiology.

And the numbers never have rebounded until the economy pulled out of it, she said, calling the 2008 recession the most likely culprit for fewer babies.

It’s not clear that it’s the only explanation, however. Another expert noted a recent decline in immigration to the U.S. may also be a factor.

The nation recorded about 4,247,000 births last year, down about 68,000 from 2007, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

This recession began in December 2007, and since then the economy has lost almost 7 million jobs. Housing foreclosures worsened in 2007 and fell into a state of crisis in 2008.

The largest decline in births were in California and Florida, two states hit hardest by the housing crisis.

But the downturn’s effect on the public psychology — and families’ willingness to have babies — may not have really hit until the fall of 2008, said Stephanie Ventura of the health statistics center, the agency that put out the report.

The new report is an early count of births from each state and does not contain demographic breakdowns.

Births were up in January, February and April of 2008 compared with 2007, but were down every month after that except September. The largest declines were recorded in October and November.

Births were down in all but 10 states, primarily the northwest quadrant of the country, including North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and Alaska.

In contrast, births in California were down by 15,000 and in Florida, by 8,000, compared with 2007.

While the recession probably played a role, another factor may be the net decline in immigration, said Population Reference Bureau demographer Mark Mather.


by the associated press