Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. Are more women in their early 40s having babies?

Chart 1 of 1 · Health

Are more women in their early 40s having babies?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

There were 12.7 births per 1,000 women aged 40 to 44 in 2024, 3.3 times the low of 3.8 in 1981. In the 1940s and 1950s it was about 15 to 16, when larger families meant more babies born to women in their 40s.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Birth rates for females by age group and Health, United States (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

Open the chart and its numbers

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