A new report from the Alaska Dept. of Health reveals that Alaska births are continuing their downward spiral with just 9,410 new babies born in 2021. That’s 1,042 fewer births than in 2017 and the lowest number since at least 1992, when there were 11,725 newborns among fewer women of reproductive age.
The plummeting number of births reflects a larger trend across the United States over the past 30 years.
Anchorage, the largest population center in Alaska, saw a sharp decline in babies, going from 4,129 births in 2017 to just 3,578 in 2021.
One area of the state which did not experience a significant drop in new births is the Mat-Su, which had 1,345 newborns in 2021 and 1,356 in 2017. Additionally, the Interior region had only a slight decrease in newborns, largely due to steady birth rates in the Fairbanks North Star Borough where 1,485 babies arrived in 2021.
While overall births declined, the age of women giving birth continued to climb. On average, birthing moms were 29 years old in 2021 – that’s the oldest on record. Mothers between the ages of 40-44 had 293 babies, the highest number since at least 2017. In addition to older mothers, more women utilized infertility treatment, with 140 using drugs, artificial insemination or assisted technology to get pregnant. That’s up from 88 women who chose these options in 2017.
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In terms of marital status, there were 3,412 babies born out of wedlock (36%) and 5,969 (63%) who were born to married couples. Those numbers have held steady in recent years.
With regards to the health of newborns, there were 652 babies born with “low” weight in 2021, including 61 who were extremely low. Those were the highest numbers since 2017 when there were 648 low-weight births.
Last year also recorded 70 deaths among babies less than a year old. That’s 17 more than 2020 and nearly double the 36 infant deaths reported in 2017, when there were more than 1,000 overall births.
The two leading causes of infant death were congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (44 deaths) and sudden infant death syndrome (32). Both categories were the highest since 2017, despite there being fewer overall births.
15 Comments
I don’t suppose we are able to correlate this with covid vaccinations in mothers. Can we?
Correlate this with the vaccination schedule period
Del Bigtree with the Highwire discussed the decrease in births and babies recently in one of his video podcasts. Interesting conversation! The jabs are affecting women’s reproductive organs causing difficulty in getting pregnant or being able to carry and men’s sperm counts are being lowered as an effect of the jabs. I wonder how many couples or women are choosing not to get pregnant because they don’t want to bring a child into this evil world? I cannot even imagine what the jabs that the parent(s) got are doing to the developing child in the womb.
Murkowski and Zink urging pregnant. women to take the MRNA.
I’d say the two people ahead of me have good comments but I’d like to know if it’s because of the LGBTQ+ folks?
Get married and have (healthy) babies!! Do exactly what the NWO doesn’t want you to do.
“Journalism” such as this leaves the door intentionally open for Anti-Vaxxers to enter. Shameful, really. But then so much of what’s on this website is. Cast doubt where none really exists, and let the crazies flood the space.
Whidbey Thedog, you apparently do not like this website since you keep posting spam, divisive and hateful speech. Your comments such as your 12/15/22 4:05 am post leaves the door intentionally open for vaxxers to enter. Shameful, really. Cast doubt where none really exists, and let the crazies flood the space.
I simply call BS where I find it, in the slim hope of someday changing even one errant mind.
MRAK trolls a reliably angry far right community. Not really journalism, is it.
ADN trolls the gullible.
How about we stop promoting abortion as birth control and learn to take care of our pregnant women? How about we treasure life so more of the next generation wants to have children? How about drop the “climate control” being the worst thing to fear bs, grooming our kids is the worst thing to fear (thanks to the teachers unions school boards, this is getting worse).
Two websites that I just learned of that are compiling data: react19.org and vaersaware.com
that is because women are so busy killing their babies in the womb! what do you expect?!
The 800# gorilla that nobody is mentioning is that the economy is so bad for entry/low-skill workers that they can’t afford to marry and have kids. Alaska gets dumber every time we have a HS graduation because the smart kids go Outside to college and never come back unless they have a family connection to plug into. What little entry/low skill work there is pays so poorly that a young couple can’t support themselves.