Births Among Unwed Blacks Hit Record Low

WASHINGTON —  The percentage of unmarried black women giving birth dropped to a record low in 1996 after seven years of steady decline, the government reported Tuesday.

Blacks were significantly more likely to have a child out of wedlock than whites, though less likely than Latinas. But the rate among blacks was the lowest since the government began keeping the statistic in 1969.

Overall, the birthrate for unmarried women remained virtually unchanged after steady increases through the 1980s. In 1996, it fell 1%, with 4.5% of unmarried women of childbearing age giving birth, according to a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For white women, the rate edged up slightly, to 2.8%; for Latinas, it was down a bit, to 9.3%.

For non-Latina black women, the rate fell to 7.6% after peaking in 1989 at 9.1%.

“This is an important trend worth tracking,” said Kristen Moore, senior research associate at Child Trends, a research firm in Washington. “At the same time, the rates remain fairly high.”

The drop, in part, is because of a sharp decline in the birthrate among black teens, although older, unmarried black women are also giving birth less often, said Stephanie J. Ventura, lead author of the government’s annual report, which drew data from all 3.9 million 1996 birth certificates.

There are many programs to serve unmarried teens, Moore noted, but few for older black women.

“These are women stepping forward themselves,” she said. “As a researcher, we don’t know why yet.”

The report also found dramatic increases in the number of triplets and other large multiple births, and a continued drop in the percentage of women who smoke while pregnant.