Defining legitimate births in Fulton County, Georgia, 1977

In 1977, the parents of 1,043 births recorded for 15 to 19 year old women in Fulton County, Georgia, were classified as married. However, only 36 per cent of these births could be linked with marriage certificates. An analysis of the unlinked birth certificates showed that the overwhelming majority of teenage parents did not appear to be legally married. The absence of a specific statement regarding marital status on birth certificates results in inaccuracies in the reporting of births according to marital status of parents.