Utah

Utah has the highest fertility rate in the United States: in 2006, about one of every 12 Utah women of childbearing age gave birth (83 per 1,000), versus 1 in 18 (54.9 per 1,000) nationally. Utah mothers are younger than average, with a mean age of 23.9 years of age versus the national average of 25. Among women giving birth in 2006, compared to other U.S. states, Utah also had the lowest percentage who were unmarried (14.3 percent versus the national average of 28.4 percent), the lowest percentage of mothers in the workforce (46.6 percent versus 57.3 percent nationally), the lowest percentage receiving cash public assistance (17.5 percent versus a national average of 30.8 percent) and ranked sixth lowest for childbearing women who lived below the poverty line (16.7 percent compared to the national average of 25.2 percent).

Utah also had the lowest rate of infant mortality in the United States at 4.5 per 1,000 live births, and a low rate of preterm births at 11.5 percent versus the national average of 12.8 percent, although the rate was higher for African American women (16.4 percent) and Hispanic women (13.0 percent). Rates of multiple births in Utah were lower for twins (27.1 per 1,000 live births) and triplets and higher-order births (136.6 per 100,000 live births) than the national average of 32.2 and 163.9, respectively.

The high birth rate and the fact that most births take place within marriage is often ascribed to the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day [Page 1238]Saints (LDS Church or Mormon Church), which emphasizes traditional sex roles and the importance of the family unit: about 60 percent of Utah residents are member of the LDS Church. Not surprisingly, with such a high birth rate, the state has the highest proportion of residents aged 18 or younger, at 30.9 percent. Per capita income in Utah is relatively low at $31,189 (ranking 45th nationally), but ranked 13th in median family income at $55,109; the discrepancy is attributable to large family size. Only 9.7 percent of Utah residents live below the poverty level (43rd in rank among U.S. states).

According to the national advocacy and proabortion rights group Ipas, Utah requires a mandatory counseling and waiting period before abortion, required parental involvement if a minor seeks an abortion, provision of only abstinence-only sex education in schools, and limited coverage of family planning services for women on Medicaid. However, only about 30 percent of Utah pregnancies are unplanned, as opposed to 50 percent nationally.

Famous mothers from Utah include entertainer Marie Osmond; actress Roseanne Barr; politician Martha Hughes Cannon (1857–1932), who in 1896 because the first woman selected as U.S. state senator; and the journalist and suffragette Emmeline Blanch Wells (1828–1921), who published the newspaper The Women's Exponent and was instrumental in winning the right for women to vote in Utah.