The pace of repeated childbearing among young American mothers

Women who first give birth at ages 16 and younger are more likely to bear a second child within the next two years (26 percent) than are women who have their first child at ages 17-18 (20 percent) or at ages 19-22 (22 percent). However, there are important racial and ethnic differences in the likelihood of rapid repeated childbearing: Among whites, age at first birth has little effect on the proportions who have a second birth quickly; but among blacks, it has a significant inverse effect, with younger women more likely than older women to have a second child quickly. At nearly all ages at first birth, Hispanic mothers are more likely than either whites or blacks to have a second birth soon after the first. While the youngest black mothers (those 16 and under) are more likely than the youngest whites to have a rapid second birth, the oldest white mothers (those 19-22) are more likely than the oldest blacks. Socioeconomic background (represented by level of parental education), marital status at first birth and wantedness of the first birth also affect the pace of repeated childbearing. Compared with young mothers whose own mothers are high school graduates, those whose mothers are dropouts are more likely to have a second child within two years. Teenage mothers who are married at their first birth appear somewhat more likely than their unmarried counterparts to bear another child quickly; and mothers who wanted their first child at the time of conception are generally more likely to do so than are mothers whose first births were unwanted.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)