California experienced a record low birth rate in 2016, pointing out a trend of fewer births and older mothers. Yolo County, on the other hand, filled some cribs.
The county’s Live Birth Profile released in May suggested an upward trend — 2,420 babies came into Yolo last year, 105 more than the year before.
The upward 5 percent spike contrasts the downward trend for the rest of California, which just reached a record-low birthrate of 12.4 births per thousand people.
Yolo County Health Officer Ron Chapman said the increase can’t be called a trend just yet, but rather, a “blip.”
“It’s hard to explain whether or not that’s meaningful,” Chapman said.
Chapman said Yolo County has followed the state’s downward trend, but the blip could be the result of increased housing and subsequent travel into the county.
“(New housing) tends to attract younger, reproductive-age adults,” he said. “Younger populations moving in could bump the birth rates.”
State trends also suggest that more women are having children past the typical “childbearing age” of 15 to 44 years old. Yolo matched that trend, seeing a new highpoint of 17 births among women over 45. This also opposed recent years: 2014 had seven such births and 2015 had six.
Several experts and officials attribute this demographic shift to the Millennial generation’s focus on careers and travel. More societal and education opportunities have opened up for women in recent decades, and many have opted to spend their late teens and early adulthood experiencing a lifestyle that may not be possible with one or more children.
Dowell Myers, a USC professor of urban planning and demography, said the current economy calls for both parents to work full time, meaning they have less time to raise kids and must rely on day care, which can be expensive.
Such strains have led many couples to push parenthood back until they have more financial stability, likely in their 30s or 40s.
This also tends to mean fewer children, as the window of opportunity closes and parents “have less time” to reproduce.
The Yolo County report also spotlights some continued trends, like the continued shrink of teen birth rates.
“That number has just been plummeting,” Chapman said, recalling the rates.
In 2016, the county saw 8.5 teen births per thousand compared to 8.6 in 2015. This figure is less than half the state rate, which is 18.9 births per thousand.
Contrarily, West Sacramento stood out in terms of Hispanic teen births, with 36.9 per thousand.
Woodland had the highest rate of general teen births in Yolo, with 36 total births. West Sacramento had 31 total. Northern stretches of Yolo surrounding Dunnigan and Knights Landing also sported high teen birth rates.
The report also suggested local maternal obesity is on the rise: 27 percent of Yolo County mothers were obese at the beginning of their pregnancy, according to conventional body mass index figures.
“It’s part of the overall obesity epidemic in all age groups,” Chapman said.
That epidemic has led to higher birthing risks. While in the womb, babies suffer the same high blood pressure and gestational issues as the mother.
That trend has also taken place nationwide.
As for 2017, Chapman said he has no predictions; rates could continue an upward slope, or they could reassume the downward trend, matching the state.
Ian Wheele of Las Angeles News Group contributed to this article.
Contact Hans Peter at 530-406-6238.
