1988’s Baby Tally Points to Increase in Older Moms

Births in the United States rose last year despite a decline in the number of women of prime childbearing age, the government said today, indicating higher fertility among women in their 30s.

At the same time, the nation set a record for deaths in a year, the National Center for Health Statistics said.

Births rose 2% to 3,913,000 in 1988, according to the annual summary from the center, part of the Health and Human Services Department.

That is the most births in this country since 1964, the center said. It represented a rate of 15.9 live births per 1,000 people, up from 15.7 a year earlier.

Deaths in 1988 totaled 2,171,000, a record. It was an increase of 44,000 from the year before. The 1988 death rate was 8.8 per 1,000 people, up from 8.7 a year earlier.

The center’s annual report also showed 2,389,000 marriages in 1988, down 1% from the year before, and 1,183,000 divorces, a 2% increase.

“Within the childbearing ages, the number of women 15 to 29 declined while the number of women 30 to 44 increased,” the center said. It noted that the ages 20 to 29 traditionally are prime years for American women to have children.