There has been a drastic increase in babies born to unmarried couples, a new report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows. Between 2003 and 2010, 27 percent of all children born in the U.S. were born to unwed mothers living with the child's father, according to the report.
Additionally, the study showed the number of children born by unmarried, co-habitational couples has tripled since 1985. This could show the changing face of American families, the CDC's Gladys Martinez said.
"It's thought that in births outside of marriage, one parent isn't present. But our data is showing that a large proportion do have two parents, even though [they're] not formally married," said Martinez.
The study also found while ages of new mothers have increased, so have the number of children older mothers are having.
"We know that women have been delaying childbirth," Martinez said. "But there is also an increase in the number of older women who have more than one kid, and we would expect that to be even higher if we interviewed even older women."
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.