Family Life

10.03.12 | Sarah Harnisch

The baby bust continues: for the fourth straight year, U.S. births are down, the government reports. It's more proof that the weak economy is dampening enthusiasm for having children. There may be a silver lining though: in 2011, the decline was 1 percent-- not as steep as the 2 to 3 percent drop off in recent years. Fewer than 4 million births were counted last year, the lowest number since 1998.