The U.S. birthrate has fallen again, according to a government report.
NBC News reports the final tally of babies born in the U.S. last year confirms that the birth rate fell again in 2018. That’s the lowest level in more than three decades.
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The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics finds there were 3,791,712 births registered in the U.S. in 2018, down 2 percent from 2017.
NBC News’ report notes that Americans are not having enough babies to sustain the population.
The total fertility rate for 2018 was 1,729.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. (The fertility rate refers to how many children women have overall; birth rate refers to how many children women have in a single year.) But in order for the nation to reproduce its population and remain stable, the CDC says there would need to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women.
That means each woman needs to have at least two babies to replace fathers and mothers, as well as account for extra deaths.
Read more about the data on NBCNews.com.