ATLANTA — ATLANTA (AP) - Health officials say nearly 1 in 4
babies are born to unmarried couples who are living together, a
significant jump from a decade ago. The government previously
said more than 40 percent of births are to unwed mothers. But a
report released Thursday offers new detail showing most unwed
births occur in cohabiting couples. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention study was based on face-to-face
interviews with more than 22,000 men and women during 2006
through 2010. About 23 percent of the reported births were to
unmarried heterosexual couples who were living together when the
child was born. That was up from 14 percent when a similar study
was done in 2002. The CDC did not speculate on reasons for the
increase. CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs