Happy Mother's Day, Oakville!

Hopefully you have taken the time today to make your mom feel special. While you are pampering her on her special day, take time out to read these fun facts from the Census Bureau.

The driving force behind Mother's Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized
observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the
annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis asked members
of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally succeeded in
1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

2
The total fertility rate or number of births per woman in the U.S. in 2009,
a decline of 4 percent from 2008 (based on current birth rates by age).
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

How Many Mothers
85.4 million
Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2008.
Source: Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2008 Panel Wave 2,
unpublished tabulations.

54%
Percentage of 15- to 44-year-old women who were mothers in 2008.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008 

82%
Percentage of women 40 to 44 who had given birth as of 2008. In 1976, 90
percent of women in that age group had given birth.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008 

How Many Children
2.6
The total fertility rate or number of births in 2008 per woman in Utah
(based on current birth rates by age), which led the nation.
At the other end of the spectrum is Vermont, with a total fertility rate of
1.7 births per woman.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

94%
Among the 37.8 million mothers living with children younger than 18 in
2004, the percentage who lived with their biological children only.
In addition, 3 percent lived with stepchildren, 2 percent with any adopted
children and less than 1 percent with any foster children.
Source: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004

Moms Who've Recently Given Birth
4.13 million
Number of births registered in the United States in 2009. Of this number,
409,840 were to teens 15 to 19 and 7,934 to mothers 45 to 54.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

25.1
Average age of women in 2008 when they gave birth for the first time, up
from 25.0 years in 2006 and 2007. The increase in the mean age from 2007 to
2008 reflects, in part, the relatively large decline in births to women
under age 25 compared with the small decline for women in the 25-39 age
bracket.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

40%
Percentage of births that were the mother's first in 2008. Another 32
percent were the second-born; 17 percent, third; and 7 percent, fourth.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

18,986
Number of births in 2008 that were the mother's eighth or more.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

42,746
Number of births in 2008 that did not occur in hospitals. Of these, 28,357
were in a residence (home) and 12,014 were in a freestanding birthing
center.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

32.6
Number of twin births per 1,000 total births in 2008, the highest rate on
record.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

6,268
Number of triplet and higher order multiple births in 2008, the lowest
number reported in more than a decade. The 2008 triplet and higher
order multiple total included 5,877 triplets, 345 quadruplets, and 46
quintuplets and higher order multiples.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

July
The month with the highest number of births, with 375,384 in 2008.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

Tuesday
The most common day to deliver, with an average of 13,415 births taking
place on Tuesdays in 2008.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

Jacob and Isabella
The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2009.
Source: Social Security Administration

71
Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women 15 to 50 with a graduate
or professional degree. These women have a higher fertility rate than those with any other level of education.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008 

Mothers Remembered
18,509
Number of florist establishments nationwide in 2008. The 89,741 employees
in floral shops across our nation will be especially busy preparing, selling and delivering floral arrangements for Mother's Day.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 

The flowers bought for mom have a good chance of having been grown in
California. Among the 15 surveyed states, California was the leading
provider of cut flowers in 2009, accounting for 75 percent of domestic
flower production ($269 million out of $359 million at wholesale value) in
those states. (The data pertain only to operations with sales greater than
or equal to $100,000.)
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 

11,715
Number of employees of the 107 greeting card publishing establishments in
2008.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2008

14,027
The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in
2008. Perfume is a popular gift given on Mother's Day.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2008

26,683
Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2008—the place to
purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 

Stay-at-Home Moms
5 million
Number of stay-at-home moms in 2010—down from 5.1 million in 2009 and
5.3 million in 2008 (the estimates for 2010 and 2009 are not statistically different). In 2010, 23 percent of married-couple family groups with children under 15 had a stay-at-home mother, up from 21 percent in 2000. In 2007, before the recession, stay-at-home mothers were found in 24 percent of married-couple family groups with children under 15.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements 

Compared with other moms, stay-at-home moms in 2007 were more likely to be:

  —Younger (44 percent were under 35 compared with 38 percent of mothers
     in the labor force).

  —Hispanic (27 percent compared with 16 percent of mothers in the labor
     force).

  —Foreign-born (34 percent compared with 19 percent of mothers in the
     labor force).

  —Living with a preschool-age child (57 percent compared with 43
     percent of mothers in the labor force).

  —Without a high school diploma (19 percent versus 8 percent of mothers
        in the labor force).
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2007

Employed Moms (and Moms-to-Be)

61%

The proportion of mothers with a recent birth who were in the labor force
increased from 57 percent in 2006 to 61 percent in 2008. Among states with higher than average levels of new mothers who were unemployed, the highest proportions were in Alabama (10 percent) and Michigan (9 percent), along with several states in the southeast United States.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008 

777,817
Number of child care centers across the country in 2008. These included
74,920 centers employing 884,235 workers and another 702,897 self-employed people or other businesses without paid employees. Many mothers turn to these centers to help juggle motherhood and careers.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 and Nonemployer Statistics 

Single Moms
9.9 million
The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2010,
up from 3.4 million in 1970.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements

5.6 million
Number of custodial mothers who were due child support in 2007.
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007 

38%
Of the 4 million women 15 to 44 years old who had a birth in the last year,
1.5 million (38 percent) were to women who were not married, who were
separated, or married but with an absent spouse. Of those 1.5 million
mothers, 425,000 (28 percent) were living with a cohabit ing partner.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008

Editor's note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources
and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an
observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions
or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information
Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: pio@census.gov.