National Survey of Family Growth

Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth - B Listing

 

Births (mothers)

 

Age at first birth

20021 2006-20102 2011-20152
Mean age at first birth for women 15-44 years of age who ever had a liveborn child 22.9 23.0 23.1 (0.16)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 7 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

 

Marital or cohabiting status of mother at time of birth

 

Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status of women 15-44 years of age when their first child was born:

20021 2006-20102 2011-20152
Married 62.3% 54.4% 50.1% (1.29)
Cohabiting 12.4% 21.9% 25.8% (0.96)
Unmarried and not cohabiting 25.3% 23.6% 24.1% (0.88)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 11 pdf icon[PDF 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Percent distribution by marital or cohabiting status at birth for births occurring in the 5 years before interview to women 15-44 years of age:

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
Married 64.4% 59.7% 61.2% (1.54)
Cohabiting 14.3% 23.4% 26.2% (1.17)
Unmarried and not cohabiting 21.3% 16.9% 12.6% (0.78)

Sources:

1 NHSR No. 51, Table 12 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Number of children ever born (parity)

Percent distribution of women 40-44 years of age by number of children ever born:

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
No children 15.0% 15.4% 15.0% (1.21)
One child 18.0% 15.2% 16.8% (1.35)
Two children 31.6% 35.0% 33.7% (1.78)
Three children 20.7% 20.2% 22.0% (1.54)
Four or more children 14.4% 14.2% 12.6% (1.24)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 3 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

 

 

Premarital/nonmarital status of births

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
Percentage of mothers (women 15-44 years of age who ever had a birth) that have ever had a nonmarital birth 42.2% 49.3% 54.0% (1.24)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 13 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Births (fathers)

 

Age at first birth fathered

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
Mean age at the birth of their first biological child for men 15-44 years of age who ever fathered a biological child 25.1 25.1 25.5 (0.16)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 7 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Marital or cohabiting status of father at time of birth

 

Marital or cohabiting status of father when his first child was born for men 15-44 years of age (who had ever fathered a child):

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
Currently or formerly married to the child’s mother 66.2% 58.6% 57.2% (1.43)
Cohabiting with the child’s mother 18.2% 25.4% 26.4% (1.09)
Unmarried and not cohabiting with the child’s mother 15.6% 16.0% 16.4% (0.90)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 11 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

 

Number of biological children ever fathered

Percent distribution of men 40-44 years of age by number of children ever fathered:

20021 2006-20102 2011-20153
No children 22.4% 23.6% 19.6% (1.48)
One child 19.9% 18.2% 20.2% (1.44)
Two children 25.0% 31.2% 30.9% (1.89)
Three or more children 32.7% 26.9% 29.3% (1.64)

Sources:

1Series 23, No 26, Table 4 pdf icon[PDF – 3.3 MB]

2NHSR No. 51. Table 4 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

3Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Birth expectations

Average number of children expected by men and women in their lifetimes:

20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
Women 15-44 years of age 2.3 2.3 2.3 (0.02)
Men 15-44 years of age 2.2 2.2 2.2 (0.03)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 5 pdf icon[PDF -543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

Percent distribution of women 15-44 years of age by expected number of births in their lifetimes:

Percentage of women who expect: 20021 2006-20101 2011-20152
No births 8.9% 8.3% 9.5% (0.47)
1 birth 13.4% 12.5% 12.5% (0.45)
2 births 42.1% 40.9% 41.3% (0.81)
3 births 22.1% 24.0% 23.3% (0.63)
4 or more births 13.5% 14.3% 13.3% ( 0.65)

Sources:

1NHSR No. 51, Table 6 pdf icon[PDF – 543 KB]

2Special tabulation by NCHS

 

 

Breast-feeding

 

Initiation of breast-feeding

Singleton babies born in
2008-2010
Singleton babies born in
2011-2013
Percent who were breast-fed at all 73.1% (1.54) 78.6% (1.84)

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS based on 2011-2015 NSFG for Health US 2017 report.

 

Duration of breast-feeding

Singleton babies born 2008-2010 Singleton babies born
2011-2013
Percent who were breast-fed 3 months or more 50.2% (1.84) 56.6% (2.01)

 

Source: Special tabulation by NCHS based on 2011-2015 NSFG for Health US 2017 report

 

 

 

Page last reviewed: July 7, 2017