Catana Benson is the typical Utah mom — literally. Statistics prove it.
She is from Saratoga Springs (part of the area that has the highest birthrate in Utah, the state with the nation's highest rate). She has three children (the average for Utah, which is also the highest in the nation). Among them are Jacob and Joshua (the No. 1 and No. 3 most popular names for boys). She was married at age 21 (average for Utah and also the lowest average marriage age in America).
Typically, she attended some college but dropped out for marriage and child-rearing. Also typically, she was a stay-at-home mom while her children were small. But, like most Utah mothers, she is in the labor force now that they are a little older — having started a job just two weeks ago.
But motherhood intervened there. "I just hurt my foot, so I'm trying to get some time off," Benson says. She hurt it in a water fight with her oldest son.
Her crowded days include helping children with dance or music lessons, taking them swimming, scrap-booking together or wondering where her younger son is hunting for lizards now. "I spend a lot of time trying to find him," she says.
While all this may be typical for moms in Utah, motherhood here differs from anywhere else in America.
Utah mothers have more children, get married younger and work less outside the home while children are small than in any other state. Utah also has one of the highest ratios for adopted children.
The state has among the lowest rates for births to unmarried women, teenagers and women living in poverty. It also ties for the nation's lowest abortion rate.
In short, Utah may come closer to the traditional view of motherhood than anywhere else in America. If Norman Rockwell were still alive and seeking models for paintings of traditional mothers and family life, he probably would look in Utah.
"We either rank No. 1 or No. 51 on about every key measure of child rearing and family formation," says Pam Perlich, a senior research economist for the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
"It certainly shows the value we place on children here and a conscious decision people are making to have children rather than to do other things," such as more fully pursue education or careers, she said.
"As an economist, I look at it as investing in children and putting more resources into children than in other things. It clearly is coming from the culture here, and we know what the dominant culture in Utah is," she said referring to the high percentage of Utahns who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Top priority is the kids and my work ... then the day is over," says another statistically typical mom, Cheryl McNeil. She is from Lehi (part of the area with the state's highest birthrate), also has three children, also was married just before age 21, also went to college for a year and also is a mostly stay-at-home mom who works part time from there.
Government agencies ranging from the U.S. Census Bureau to local boards of health compile vast amounts of data that reveal such statistics. Mother's Day seems an ideal time to look at the interesting numbers pertaining to, and affected by, mothers in Utah.
MOST CHILDREN: Utah women, on average, can expect to have 2.5 children in their lifetime, tops in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nationally, American women can expect to have 2.1 children on average.
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont tied for the lowest average per woman — 1.7.
Perhaps Utah women read and believe Psalm 127 in the Bible, which says of children, "Happy is the man (or woman?) that hath his quiver full of them."
HIGHEST BIRTHRATE: Not surprisingly, since its women have the most children in their lifetimes, Utah also has the highest annual birthrate in the nation: 90 children for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 in 2005. That means one of every 11 women in that age group gave birth that year.
The national birthrate for that group is only 66.7 — so Utah is a third higher than average.
The birthrate within Utah itself can vary greatly.
The Utah Department of Health divides the state for comparison into 61 small areas. The place among them with the highest birthrate was Lehi-Cedar Valley, with a whopping 232.6 births per 1,000 women ages 14 to 44 per year during 2003-05.
That meant about one of every four women in that age group in Lehi, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Valley was giving birth each year.
That far outdistanced second-place Riverton-Draper with its 147.7 per 1,000 women, followed in turn by Syracuse-Kaysville, 137.4; southern Utah County, 137.1; and Woods Cross-North Salt Lake, 137.4.
The area with the lowest birth rate in the state for the period was the Avenues in Salt Lake City, with 60.2 (which was actually below the national average for baby-happy Utah). Next was downtown Salt Lake City, at 64.9; northeast Sandy, 71.1; and Cottonwood, 72.5.
FEWER BABIES NOW: While Utah may have the nation's highest birthrate, that ratio has dropped significantly in the past 35 years.
Utah Department of Health statistics show the rate has fallen 23 percent since 1970.
The drop nationally was even a bit bigger, 25 percent, in that time.
In 1970, Utah saw 116.7 babies for every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. By 2005, that fell to 90.
FEWER MOTHERS THAN YOU MAY THINK: Somewhat surprisingly, a smaller percentage of all Utah women are mothers than the average nationwide.
Census data for 2004 estimated that 53 percent of Utah women ages 15 to 44 are mothers. Nationally, that average is 56 percent.
In fact, Utah has the ninth lowest percentage among states of all women in that age group who are mothers (while those Utah women who are mothers are having more children than average).
UNMARRIED MOMS: Utah has the lowest percentage among the states of women who gave birth who are unmarried.
A U.S. Census study between 2000 and 2003 showed that percentage at 14.7 percent, while the national average was twice as high.
More recent Utah Department of Heath data show the local rate to be a bit higher: 17.7 percent in 2005.
Rates have nearly quadrupled since 1970, when just 4.5 percent of the babies born in Utah were to unmarried women.
ADOPTIVE MOMS: Utah has the third highest ratio among the states of children under age 18 who are adopted, according to data from a study this year by the Williams and Urban institutes.
Utah has 76.2 adopted children per 10,000 residents. That is 44 percent higher than the national average of 53.
The only states that are higher are Alaska (103.1 adopted children per 10,000 residents) and Wyoming (77.6). The number of adopted children living in Utah is estimated at 19,430.
The 2000 U.S. Census estimated that 2.9 percent of all Utah children under age 18 were adopted.
MORE CHOOSING LIFE: Utah is tied for the lowest abortion rate in the nation, and abortion ratios also have been dropping in recent years.
In 1990, about 10 percent of all pregnancies in Utah ended in abortion, according to the Utah Department of Health.
In 2005, about 6 percent did. There were 3,279 abortions that year in Utah.
The Centers for Disease Control, with 2003 data, reports that Utah had six abortions for every 1,000 resident women ages 15 to 44. That tied it for lowest in the nation, with Idaho and South Dakota, among states that reported such data.
STEPMOTHERS: About one of every 20 children in Utah is living with a stepparent, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
It estimated that 4.8 percent of Utah children under age 18 are stepchildren — just slightly under the national average of 5.1 percent.
Stepmothers may especially like the oft-recited Abraham Lincoln quote, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." He was referring to his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln.
FEW TEEN MOMS: Utah has the second-lowest percentage among states of women who gave birth "in the past year" who were teenagers: 4.6 percent.
Only Massachusetts was lower. Utah's rate was just 60 percent of the national average, according to census data for 2000-03.
POOR MOMS: Relatively few Utah women give birth while living in poverty.
About 16.9 percent of those who gave birth in the most recent year of study were living below the poverty level, the ninth best rate among the states. Utah's rate is about a quarter below the national average, according to census data for 2000-03.
AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE: For Utah women, the average age at their first marriage is 21.9 — the youngest among the states. That is about three years younger than the national average, according to U.S. Census data for 2000-03.
Of note, their husbands are also the youngest in the nation. Their average age at first marriage is 23.9, also about three years younger than the national average.
(More recent data from the Utah Health Department show a bride's age at first marriage in 2005 was 22.0, and for grooms it was 23.0. For remarriages, the average age of Utah brides was 32.0 and for grooms it was 37.0.)
Utah Health Department data also show Utah has a much higher marriage rate than average: 9.5 marriages per 1,000 residents in 2005, compared to a national average of 7.5.
But that rate in Utah has been dropping, down 21 percent since 1975, when it was 12 marriages per 1,000 residents.
Among Utah counties, Sanpete had the highest marriage rate in 2005: 31.6 per 1,000 residents. Tooele County had the lowest: 0.6.
Utah couples also seem to prefer religious-ceremony marriages. In 2005, 76 percent of marriages were religious ceremonies, and 23 percent were civil.
STILL TOGETHER: Utah has the highest percentage among the states of households currently headed by a married couple, where moms still have dads to help: 62.9 percent. The national average is only 50.6 percent.
Utah has the second-lowest percentage of households headed by unmarried partner couples: 3.4 percent. The only state that is lower is Alabama at 3 percent.
Utah Health Department data show Utah's divorce rate is a bit higher than average:
3.9 per 1,000 residents in 2005, compared to a national average of 3.6. However, Utah's rate has dropped from 5 per 1,000 residents in 1975.
Among Utah counties, the highest divorce rate in 2005 was in Emery, 6.2 per 1,000 residents. Morgan had the lowest, 1.5.
WORKING MOMS: Utah has the lowest percentage among states of women who gave birth "within the last year" who also are in the labor force: 48 percent.
The national average is 56.1 percent, according to U.S. Census data for 2000-03.
But Perlich says a closer examination of data shows that most of the Utah moms who are not working are those only with very young children, under age 6. "For mothers with older children, Utah has about the same rate as the national average for those who work," she said.
She said that 2000 Census data show that for Utah mothers with children only under age 6, 59.1 percent of them work compared to a national average of 63.5 percent.
For those with children ages only 6 through 17, 75 percent work — virtually the same as the national average of 74.9 percent.
FEW SITTERS: Maybe one reason that so few Utah mothers work is because they cannot find child care.
According to a recent Utah Department of Health study, Utah had a demand in 2005 for 49,048 child-care slots.
However, it said the existing child-care facility capacity at the time was just 42,214.
So, Utah had a shortage of about 6,800 slots.
HEALTHIER BABIES: Utah mothers are having healthier babies now than they were 50 years ago.
Back in 1955, Utah's infant death rate was 20.6 per 1,000 live births. By 2005, that dropped to just 4.5.
That is a 78 percent drop in the infant mortality rate in that half-century, according to Utah Department of Health statistics.
PRENATAL CARE: Utah mothers tend to take relatively good care of their unborn children.
The Centers for Disease Control said 78 percent of Utah mothers-to-be in 2005 began prenatal care in the first trimester, ranking No. 10 among the states. It was much better than the national average of 66 percent.
Fewer than a half of 1 percent of Utah mothers that year received no prenatal care before giving birth.
MOMS LIKE CITIES: The state health department also figures out birthrates and totals for urban, rural and "frontier" areas in the state. It shows that most Utah mothers appear to prefer city living.
Data show 77 percent of all births in Utah in 2005 were in urban areas, 19 percent were in rural areas and 4 percent were in "frontier" areas.
Birthrates were similar for all three types of areas: 20.6 births per 100,000 residents in urban areas; 19.6 for rural areas; and 17 in frontier areas.
MOMS GETTING MORE BOYS: Utah mothers gave birth to about 105 boys for every 100 girls in 2005, numbers that have stayed roughly consistent since at least 1960.
That is similar to national averages, but in most years Utah moms tend to give birth to a slightly higher percentage of boys than other mothers nationally.
MOMS' FAVORITE NAMES: The Social Security Administration reports that the top five favorite names that mothers gave boys in Utah in 2005 were, in order: Jacob, Ethan, Joshua, Samuel and Andrew.
Utah moms' favorite names for girls that year were, in order: Emma, Emily, Olivia, Abigail and Hannah.
CALL THE DOCTOR: A huge 98 percent of all Utah births in 2005 took place in hospitals.
Doctors attended 90 percent of births, certified nurse midwives attended 9 percent and midwives attended 1 percent.
UNLIKE CAESAR'S MOM: Utah has the lowest rate in the nation of births by Caesarean section.
In 2004, 20 percent of all Utah births were delivered that way, or one of every five, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The national average was 29 percent, almost 50 percent higher than in Utah.
Conversely, Utah also has the highest rate in the nation of vaginal births: 79 percent.
POPULAR MONTH: The most popular month to give birth in Utah is August but just barely. (That also happens to be the month when typical-mom McNeil of Lehi had her oldest son.)
In 2005, August just nosed out March, July and May in that order.
SMART MOMS: Most babies born in Utah have mothers who are fairly well educated. However, Perlich notes data indicate that many choose not to finish college and to instead begin families.
In 2005, 56 percent of Utah women who gave birth had one or more years of college. Another 30 percent were high school graduates. And 14 percent were less than high school graduates.
SURPRISE ARRIVALS: The Utah Department of Health says that nearly a third of Utah women reported that their last pregnancy was unintended.
The exact rate was 31.4 percent.
It varied greatly from place to place. The highest such percentage was in Grand and San Juan counties, 70.6 percent. The lowest was 15.7 percent in east Orem.
CHANCES OF TWINS: One of every 34 births in Utah in 2005 was for twins, triplets or more.
The odds or giving births to twins was a bit higher nationally, about 1 in 31.
WHY STOP AT ONE?: Nationally, about 40 percent of births are the mother's first. But Utah is different.
Only 33 percent of Utah births in 2005 were the mother's first. Another 29 percent were the second; 20 percent, third; 10 percent, fourth; 4 percent, fifth; and 3 percent, sixth or higher, according to State Health Department data.
GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDKIDS: Many Utah grandparents find that raising children did not end for them when their own children became adults. Nearly 16,000 Utah grandparents were raising grandchildren in 2000, according to the U.S. Census.
Utah also had the 14th-highest rate among the states of grandparents living with grandchildren (but not necessarily responsible for raising them): 3.7 percent of the state population over age 30 in 2000.
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