Fertility of Men and Women Aged 15–49 in the United States: National Survey of Family Growth, 2015–2019
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional national survey (level 4 by design analogy for demographic descriptive statistics)
OpenAlex W81443339 · doi:10.15620/cdc:122080
What was done
Descriptive fertility measures were calculated using in-person interview data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). The survey sampled a nationally representative household population of 22,682 individuals (10,403 men and 12,279 women) aged 15–44 years in the United States, achieving an overall response rate of 77% (75% for men, 78% for women), and compared findings with 2002 NSFG data.
What was found
Fertility measures were generally similar between 2002 and 2006–2010. The mean age at first birth was 23 years for women and 25 years for men. Half of first births to women and two-thirds of first births fathered by men occurred in their 20s. Women aged 15–44 had an average of 1.3 children at the time of interview. By age 40, 85% of women had given birth and 76% of men had fathered a child. First births to women within cohabiting unions increased from 12% in 2002 to 22% in 2006–2010.
Why it matters
These baseline estimates provide national demographic benchmarks on the timing, parity, and relationship context of childbearing in the United States.
Limits
The abstract reports descriptive, retrospective self-reported survey data, which is subject to recall bias. It only captures household populations aged 15–44 and does not report statistical significance tests or confidence intervals in the text. There is also a discrepancy between the publication title (15–49 years, 2015–2019) and the provided abstract text (15–44 years, 2006–2010).
Cited by
- context The average number of children per mother in the United States is around 2.6.
- context Under current US fertility patterns, 40% of 15-year-old females in the US will never become mothers.
- supports In the United States, the likelihood of a woman becoming a mother at age 35 or older is approximately 15%.