Birth rates have been increasing again since 1997, following a steady decline for nearly a decade. Consider these statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• The year 2000 saw a 3 percent increase in births in the US from 1999: 2.1 births per woman.

• In 2000, 4,058,814 babies were born in the US.

• The peak age for a woman's childbearing years remains in her 20s.

• The birth rate for teenagers, ages 15 to 19 years, continues to decrease to 48.5 births per 1,000 population. In 2000, the birth rate decreased by 5 percent.

• There is a slow increase in births to mothers over age 30, especially in women over 40 years old.

• Although more pregnancies are resulting in twin births, the birth rates for triplets and higher order multiple births has declined.

• More women than ever are receiving prenatal care in the US - about 83.2 percent.

• Fewer women are smoking during pregnancy - about 12.2 percent in 2000.

• Preterm birth rates (less than 37 weeks in the womb) was down for the first time at 11.6 percent in 2000, while the number of low birthweight babies (less than 5.5 pounds) remained at 7.6 percent.
  
  
• The rate of cesarean deliveries continues to rise for the fourth year, to 23 percent.