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Drop in Bay Area Birthrates Linked to Recession

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS) - The recession could be impacting a lot more than the Bay Area's unemployment rate. Birthrates are down at local hospitals.

"It's hard to even think about bringing another mouth to feed in some households right now, with the long-term unemployment that some people face," reasoned Stephanie Koontz, a family studies professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. "And the ending of the social safety net as unemployment benefits run out."

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According to published reports, the number of births fell in seven of the nine Bay Area counties in 2008. Napa and Sonoma counties posted very small increases in birth rates.

"It's become more and more expensive to send a child to school and tuition has risen over the past 20 years for college much more, much more, than family income has risen, even in good times it was rising faster," Koontz said.

Nationally, the birthrate fell last year to one of its lowest levels ever.

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