Births to Unmarried Women
In 2011, as it has been for four consecutive years, more than four in ten births (41 percent) were to unmarried women.ImportanceChildren born to unmarried mothers are more likely to grow up in a single-parent household, experience instability in living arrangements, live in poverty, and have socio-emotional problems.1,2,3,4 As these children reach adolescence, they are more likely to have low educational attainment, engage in sex at a younger age, and have a birth outside of marriage.5,6,7,8 As young adults, children born outside of marriage are more likely to be idle (neither in school nor employed), have lower occupational status and income, and have more troubled marriages and more divorces than those born to married parents.9 Women who give birth outside of marriage tend to be more disadvantaged than their married counterparts, both before and after the birth. Unmarried mothers generally have lower incomes, lower education levels, and are more likely to be dependent on welfare assistance compared with married mothers.10,11,12,13 Women who have a nonmarital birth also tend to fare worse than childless single women; for example, they have reduced marriage prospects compared with single women without children.14,15 A majority of unmarried births now occur to cohabiting parents.16 Between 2006 and 2010, 58 percent of unmarried births were to cohabiting parents: in 2002, the proportion was 40 percent.17 Children born to cohabiting parents are more likely to see their parents eventually marry than are those born to non-co-residential parents.18 Nevertheless, children born to cohabiting parents experience higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage, and fare worse across a range of behavioral and emotional outcomes than those born to married parents.19
TrendsThe proportion of births to unmarried women has increased greatly in recent decades, rising from five percent in 1960 to 32 percent in 1995. After some stability in the mid-1990s, there was a gradual rise from 1997 through 2008, from 32 to 41 percent. The rate appears to have stabilized again, and was at 41 percent in 2011 (preliminary estimate). The long-term trend toward non-marital births may be attributed, in part, to an increase in cohabiting unions and in births within such relationships. Data for 2011 show an increase among all age groups over 14 years in the share of births that were to unmarried women. (Figure 1)
Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin20There are large differences by race and Hispanic origin in the share of births to unmarried women, with non-Hispanic white women and Asian or Pacific Islander women much less likely than women in other groups to have a nonmarital birth. In 2011 (preliminary estimates), 72 percent of all births to black women, 66 percent to American Indian or Alaskan native women, and 53 percent to Hispanic women occurred outside of marriage, compared with 29 percent for white women, and 17 percent for Asian or Pacific Islander women. (Appendix 1) However, the difference between black and white women in the percentage of births that are nonmarital has been shrinking consistently since 1980, while the difference between white and Hispanic women has been widening. (Figure 1)
Differences by AgeYounger women who give birth are substantially more likely than older women to do so outside of marriage. In 2011 (preliminary estimates), the great majority of teenage births were to unmarried women: 99 percent for teens under age 15, and 89 percent for 15- to 19-year olds. This compares with 64 percent of births to women ages 20 to 24, 34 percent to women ages 25 to 29, and between 20 and 22 percent to women in their thirties and forties. (Figure 2) Between 1960 and 1970, the fastest growth in the percentage of non-marital births was among 15- to 19-year-olds. However, between 1970 and 2000, the fastest growth was among 20- to 29-year-olds; and between 2000 and 2010, the fastest growth has been among 30- to 35-year-olds. (Appendix 1)
Nonmarital Births in Cohabiting CouplesData from a national survey indicate that more than half (58 percent) of all non-marital births in 2006-2010 occurred within cohabiting unions, although there is substantial variation by racial and ethnic group, age, and poverty status. Among Hispanic and white women, 68 percent of all nonmarital births occurred within cohabiting unions, compared with only 35 and 45 percent, respectively, among black and Asian women. (Appendix 2) Teens are less likely than older women to have nonmarital births within cohabiting unions. Forty-six percent of nonmarital teen births occurred within cohabiting situations, compared to 63 percent among women aged 20 to 24, and about 60 percent among women aged 25 and older (including 61 percent for women aged 25-29, and 60 percent for women aged 30-44). (Appendix 2) Women whose family incomes were between 150 and 299 percent of the federal poverty line (at the time of interview, up to five years after the birth) were the most likely to be cohabiting at the time of a non-marital birth (67 percent); among women living below 150 percent of the poverty line, or at 300 percent and above, 57 percent of non-marital births occurred within cohabiting unions. (Appendix 2)
State and Local Estimates
International Estimates
National GoalsReducing the number of out-of-wedlock births was one of the goals of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PROWRA). Although specific targets were not set, annual bonuses were awarded to states that reduced the percentage of births to unmarried women by the largest amount (without increasing abortions). More information is available here, under Title IX: Miscellaneous. What Works to Make Progress on This IndicatorSee: Ball, V. & Moore, K. A. (2008). What works for adolescent reproductive health: Lessons from experimental evaluations of programs and interventions. Child Trends. Also, see the U.S. Office of Adolescent Health’s list of interventions meeting its criteria for effectiveness in pregnancy prevention.
Related Indicators
DefinitionIn 49 states and the District of Columbia, births to unmarried women are identified by a question such as “Mother married?” on the birth certificate. In New York, marital status is inferred. For more detailed information, see the User Guide to the 2009 Natality Public Use File.
Data Sources
Raw Data SourceCohabiting data: National Survey of Family Growth All other data: Birth Data, National Vital Statistics System
Recommended citation: Last update: November 2012
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