Kansas Birth Rate in 2013 Lowest Since Recording Began

An annual report says the Kansas birth rate in 2013 was the lowest since the state began keeping birth records in 1912.

The Wichita Eagle reports an annual vital statistics reports says the Kansas rate was 13.4 per 1,000, a drop of 4.3 percent from 2012.

Kansas State professor Laszlo Kulcsar, a demographer, says many people are deciding to have fewer children for a variety of reasons, including the economy.

The report showed 38,805 babies were born in Kansas in 2013. The report also found teen pregnancies were the lowest in 20 years, and the abortion rate increased slightly from 2012 but is still trending downward to about 97 abortions per 1,000 live births.