EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 8, 2018 Page 7
There Has Been a
Bump in Motherhood
By Rob McCarthy
More women are having children, though
it’s too early to call it a baby boom, says a
new report about motherhood. And while the
bump in babies isn’t huge, it halts a steady
20-year decline that had economists and
employers fretting.
The Pew Research Center compared
how many women by age 44 had become
mothers, using 2006 and 2016 data. What
they found dispelled the myth about a postrecession
“baby bust” -- the assumption that
couples and single women couldn’t afford
children after the financial collapse in 2008
that claimed jobs and homes. “Not only are
women more likely to be mothers than in the
past, but they are having more children,” the
Pew report found.
A sizable 86 percent of women by 2016
had become mothers -- higher than before
the crisis. Ten years before, 80 percent of
women had given birth by the time they
reached age 44, U.S. Census data showed.
The great majority of women bear children
before age 45, even though medical technology
has extended fertility.
Women of all ages are waiting longer to
have their kids, too. That includes what Pew
calls “never-married” mothers, a lifestyle
choice of 15 percent of American women.
Matrimony isn’t the barrier to motherhood it
once was either: Pew found that a majority
of women -- 55 percent -- who never wed
choose to become mothers. “This marks a
dramatic change from two decades earlier,
when roughly a third … of never-married
women in their early 40s had given birth,”
Pew researchers noted.
Motherhood rates have soared among Caucasian
never-married women in their early 40s.
In 2014, 37 percent were mothers, compared
with just 13 percent two decades ago. Rates
also ticked up among their African-American
counterparts: 75 percent were mothers in
2014, compared with 69 percent in 1994.
Teens pregnancies are falling and women
are delaying having children until well into
their 20s, a change that is behind the drop
in U.S. fertility rates. In the mid-1990s, the
median age of women giving birth was 23.
Today, women aren’t becoming mothers until
age 26. They’re also putting off marriage for
school and careers.
Not only are more women deciding to have
children, but they’re having bigger families,
too. Three children is closer to the norm
now, compared to a decade ago when family
size was closer to two -- a record low for
the country. School districts with declining
enrollment could soon find themselves adding
classrooms and teachers.
New arrivals throughout Los Angeles are
being born at full term, too, and with fewer
premature complications, according to another
report from the University of Southern
California. Premature births and low birth
weights are leading causes of infant death
in the United States, according the USC
Children’s Data Network.
Infants born too early or too small are at
increased risk of serious long-term health
problems. Using the latest available data
from 2012, USC officials found that full-term
births barely exceeded 50 percent. Physicians,
clinics and social service agencies have done
a commendable job getting women -- especially
teens -- into prenatal care. “Public
health efforts to decrease preterm births and
improve birth weights appear to be working,”
the network said, crediting programs
and policies put in place to address health
pregnancies in the county since 2012.
Gains came between 2007 and 2012 when
more than half of the expectant mothers
countywide carried their babies to full term
more than half the time. Physician and public
health outreaches were credited with raising
the number of healthy deliveries by teens --
56.6 percent -- and women overall.
Fertility rates follow a healthy economy.
More babies now means more school kids in
the short term, plus more working adults later
to pay taxes and keep the nation’s retirement
safety net (Social Security) properly funded. •
Police Reports
Thursday, Jan. 25
A traffic accident (without injuries) occurred
at 0232 hours in the 500 block of Concord
Street, vehicle versus parked vehicle.
One female adult was arrested at 0305
hours from the 500 block of Concord Street
for misdemeanor DUI with a BAC of .08%
or above.
Found property report was taken at 0911
hours in the 2100 block of East El Segundo
Boulevard.
One female adult was arrested at 1027
hours from the 400 block of West Imperial
Avenue for vehicle theft.
One female adult was arrested at 1602 hours
from Main Street and Franklin Avenue for
child endangerment and public intoxication.
Friday, Jan. 26
A lost/stolen license plate(s) report was
taken at 0129 hours from the 500 block
of North Sepulveda Boulevard. Unknown
suspect(s) removed the rear plate from the
victim’s vehicle.
One female adult was arrested at 0321
hours from Aviation Boulevard and Rosecrans
Avenue for one outstanding LASD
felony warrant.
A traffic accident (with injuries) occurred
at 1341 hours at Douglas Street and Mariposa
Avenue, three vehicles involved.
An identity theft occurred at 1312 hours in
the 700 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard.
Three suspects attempted to purchase items
using a fake credit card.
A found property report was taken at 1535
hours from the 300 block of Main Street. A
maroon coin purse containing $1.45 in U.S.
currency was found.
A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at
1602 hours from the 1400 block of East
Imperial Avenue.
A petty theft occurred between 0700 hours
and 1807 hours in the 300 block of East
Imperial Avenue. A bicycle was stolen.
Saturday, Jan. 27
A petty theft report was taken at 0839 hours
from the 200 block of West Imperial Avenue.
A tool bag containing a power drill set was
taken from an unlocked vehicle.
A petty theft report was taken at 0832
hours from the 400 block of North Sepulveda
Boulevard. Taken were two backpacks
containing miscellaneous clothing.
A burglary (commercial) report was taken
at 1221 hours from the 200 block of East
Grand Avenue.
A burglary (commercial)/identity theft report
was taken at 1348 hours from the 800 block
of South Douglas Street. Unknown suspect(s)
gained entry into the victim’s locker through
unknown means. Suspect(s) removed credit
cards from the victim’s wallet and made
unauthorized purchases.
A found property report was taken at 1700
hours from the 200 block of West Mariposa
Avenue. A watch was found.
Sunday, Jan. 28
Traffic accident (no injuries) occurred at
0104 hours at the southeast corner of Maple
Avenue and Nash Street, vehicle versus
traffic pole.
Grand theft (auto) occurred on 01/27/18
at 1000 hours to 1030 hours from the 300
block of West Imperial Avenue. Taken was
a 2000 Chevy van.
One male adult was arrested at 1601 hours
from the 700 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard
for shoplifting, possession of stolen
property and possession of burglary tools.
See Police Reports, page 14