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.
How many mothers?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 85.4 million in the United States. The Census Bureau conducted a Survey of Income and Program Participation and found that 54 percent of 15- to 44-year-old women were mothers in 2008; 82 percent of women 40 to 44 had given birth as of 2008. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group had given birth.
How many children?
The total fertility rate or number of births in 2008 per woman in Utah was 2.6 (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.
Just over 4 million births were 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.
The average age of women in 2008 when they gave birth for the first time was 25.1, 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.
There were 42,746 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.
There were 6,265 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.
The month with the highest number of births is July, with 375,384 in 2008.
Tuesday is the most common day to deliver, with an average of 13,415 births taking place on Tuesdays.
The most popular baby names in 2009 were Jacob and Isabella.
Cards and flowers
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.)
There are 11,711 employees of the 107 United States greeting-card publishing establishments. There are 26,683 jewelry stores in the United States in 2008— the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.
Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms from all of us at the Cook County News- Herald!
Leave a Reply