FAST FACT: Motherhood by the Numbers

May 7, 2009 posted by Kyla Bender-Baird In honor of Mother’s Day, the Census Bureau released a handy-dandy fact sheet on motherhood.  Here are some of the stats they compiled:

• In 2004, there were approximately 82.8 million mothers in the United States
• There are 9.8 million single mothers living with children younger than 18
• 94% of mothers living with children under 18 live only with their biological children.  Another 3% live with stepchildren, 2% with adopted children, and less than 1 percent live with foster children 67% of women who gave birth for the first between 2001 and 2003 worked during their pregnancy (up from 44% 40 years ago)
• In 2006, there were 32.1 twin births per 1,000 total births
• August is the month with the highest number of births and Wednesday is the most common day of the week to deliver

If you’re a data nerd like me (or just appreciate the fine art of numbers), check out the rest of the report here. For more reading on Mother’s Day, don’t miss this AlterNet piece by Jodie Evans of The Women’s Media Center reminding us about why Mother’s day was started. Courtney Martin gives a shout out to her mother and recommends some Mother’s Day reading over at Feministing.   Head over to WowOwow for an interesting development regarding anti-choice backlash directed at beloved author Judy Blume. Finally, MomsRising is encouraging everyone to send a customizable “Mother of the Year” video to all the moms in your life.