Births in RI drop to fewest in the US; fertility rate at a new low
October 4th, 2012 at 2:23 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Rhode Islanders just aren’t making babies like they used to.
The state’s fertility rate fell to the lowest level in at least two decades last year as relatively few Rhode Island women of childbearing age brought home a newborn, according to a new National Center for Health Statistics study.
The study shows Rhode Islanders gave birth to 10,960 babies last year, which translates to 51.5 births for every 1,000 female residents between the ages of 15 and 44 – the lowest fertility rate of any state in the nation.
The fertility rate nationwide was 63.2 births but it was significantly lower throughout New England, with the region’s highest rate in Massachusetts, which had 54.4 births per 1,000 women 15 to 44. Women in Utah have the nation’s highest fertility rate: 83.6 births, about 32 more babies than women in Rhode Island.