births declining

Photo by luvmylittlelove

For the first time since the year 2000, U.S. births have dropped, and experts say the recession is to blame. There were about 4,247,000 births in 2008 (the first full year of the recession), which is down about 68,000 from 2007.

That might not seem so significant, especially since more babies were born in 2007 than any other year in U.S. history. But experts say the drop breaks an unusual trend. Births have been on the rise since 2002, and birth rates had been increasing in women of different age groups.

Births were down in all but 10 states—the largest decline was in California and Florida, two of the states that were hardest hit by the housing crisis.

Does the recession have you rethinking if (or when) you'll have another baby?