ABSTRACT
Objectives—This report presents provisional 2021 data and final 2020 and 2019 data on changes in the number of U.S. births by race and Hispanic origin of mother, month of birth, and state.
Methods—Data are based on all birth certificates registered to U.S. residents in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.); data for 2021 are provisional, and data for 2019 and 2020 are final. Changes in the number of births by month from 2020 to 2021 by race and Hispanic origin of the mother are compared with changes occurring from 2019 to 2020. Changes for the first and second 6 months of the year by race and Hispanic origin and by state are also compared for the periods 2020 to 2021 and 2019 to 2020.
Results—From 2020 to 2021, the number of births declined for January and February and rose for April and each month for June through December. This resulted in a decline of 2% in the number of births for the first 6 months of 2021 and a 4% increase for the second 6 months of 2021. In the second 6 months of 2021, the number of births rose 3%–6% for non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic women, and were not significantly changed for women in the other race
and Hispanic-origin groups compared with declines of 2%–8% for women in nearly all groups for the first 6 months of 2021. In the second 6 months of 2021, births increased for 39 states, did not change significantly in 9 states and D.C., and declined in 2 states. In contrast to changes in births for 2020–2021, births declined for each month and for most race and Hispanic-origin groups and states for 2019–2020