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Jerry Conover
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Indiana Business Research Center
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Last modified: Friday, May 9, 2008

Mother's Day in Indiana by the numbers

Some statistics from the Indiana Business Research Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Just in time for Mother's Day this Sunday (May 11), the Indiana Business Research Center in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business has offered some interesting statistics.

baby

September is the busiest month for new moms. More babies are born in September in Indiana than any other month. The fewest babies are born in January.

Below are 10 facts about Hoosier motherhood, based on the most current data:

  • Lots and lots of babies -- There were 87,193 births in Indiana in 2005, accounting for 2.1 percent of all births in the U.S.
  • Hoosier birth rate same as U.S. -- Indiana's birth rate in 2005 was 13.9, essentially the same as the U.S. rate of 14. (Birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 population)
  • First-timers -- 38 percent of Indiana's births were to first-time mothers (2005).
  • Hoosier moms with five or more kids -- 5 percent of Indiana's births in 2005 were to women having their fifth child or more.
  • Biological clocks go off in mid-20s -- The average age of Indiana mothers having their first child was 24.1 (more than a year younger than the U.S. average of 25.2). Just 10 years ago, Indiana's average age of first-time mothers was 23.7, an indication that Hoosier women are waiting longer to start their families.
  • Young mothers -- 11 percent of Indiana babies in 2005 were born to women under the age of 20.
  • Hoosier twins -- 32 out of every 1,000 births were sets of twins (between 2003 and 2005)
  • September baby boom -- There was an average of 256 births each day in September in Indiana, the highest average daily total of any month. January was the lowest month with an average of 220 births per day. (2005)
  • Working Moms -- 61 percent of moms who gave birth in 2006 were in the labor force.
  • What's in a name? -- Emma was the most popular name for newborn girls in Indiana and Jacob was the most frequent name for boys. Jacob and Emily were the most popular names nationally (2006). In 2000, Jacob and Hannah were the most popular names in Indiana; in 1990, Michael and Jessica; in 1980, Michael and Jennifer.

The Indiana Business Research Center is part of a national network of State Data Centers and acts as the official state representative to the Census Bureau on matters relating to the census and population estimates. The IBRC also develops and maintains STATS Indiana, the award winning, state-supported Web service (www.stats.indiana.edu).