Mohamed Bughrara
In 2021, the United States had over 3.6 million births, which was a 1 percent boost since 2020 and the first increase in 6 years. That’s not the case for Pennsylvania, as child births have actually been decreasing throughout the years.
According to the CDC’s Vital Statistics Rapid Release data, Pennsylvania had 132,401 births from 2020 to 2021.
According to Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, Pennsylvania had 134,247 births in 2019, while in 2018 there were 135,677 births. In 2017, Pennsylvania had 137, 771 births, and in 2016 there were 139, 356 births. Lastly, in 2015, there were a total of 140,727 births. So far, signs point towards fewer births consistently in Pennsylvania since 2015.
Additionally, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics in Pennsylvania, the fertility rate in Pennsylvania is 54.9 births per 1000 women (ages 14–44) while the teen birth rate is 12.6 per 1000 females (ages 15–19) as the teen birth rate continues to trend downwards. The infant mortality rate is 5.5 infant deaths per 1000 births.
Pennsylvania lags behind the nation’s birth rate. Regardless of the pandemic and national trends, fewer Pennsylvanians are having kids.
