The first Mother’s Day observance was a church service in 1908 requested by Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, to honor her deceased mother.
Jarvis, at an early age, had heard her mother express hope that a day to commemorate all mothers would be established.
Two years after her mother’s death, Jarvis and her friends began a letter-writing campaign to declare a national Mother’s Day observance to honor mothers.
In 1914, Congress passed legislation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
On Sunday, millions of families will be gathering on Mother's Day to recognize their moms and the contributions they are making and have made.
Who are these moms, how many children do they have, how many work, and how many are single moms?
Here are facts and figures about mothers and Mother's Day from the U.S. Census Bureau:
How many mothers
82.8 million
Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2004.
55%
Percentage of 15- to 44-year-olds who were mothers in 2006.
80%
Percentage of women 40 to 44 who were mothers in 2006. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group were mothers.
How many children
2.1
The total fertility rate or number of births per woman in the U.S. in 2006.
94%
Among the 37.8 million mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2004, the percentage who lived with their biological children only. In addition, 3 percent lived with stepchildren, 2 percent with adopted children and less than 1 percent with foster children.
Moms who’ve recently given birth
4.3 million
Number of births registered in the United States in 2006. Of this number, 435,436 were to teens 15 to 19, 112,513 to mothers 40 or older, and 494 to those 50 or older.
25
Average age of women in 2006 when they gave birth for the first time, down from 25.2 years in 2005.
40%
Percentage of births that were the mother’s first in 2006. Another 32 percent were the second-born; 17 percent, third; and 11 percent, fourth or more.
18,674
Number of births in 2006 that were the mother’s eighth or more.
38,568
Number of births in 2006 that didn’t occur in hospitals.
32.1
Number of twin births per 1,000 total births in 2006.
153.3
Number of triplet and higher order multiple births per 100,000 total births in 2006.
August
The month with the highest number of births, with 387,798 taking place that month in 2006.
Wednesday
The most common day of the week to deliver, with an average of 13,482 births taking place on Wednesdays during 2006.
Jacob and Emily
The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2007.
67
Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women 15 to 50 with a graduate or professional degree.
Mothers remembered
20,227
Number of florist establishments nationwide in 2006, with 98,373 employees.
12,765
Number of employees of the 132 greeting-card publishing establishments in 2006.
13,591
The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies, and perfume stores nationwide in 2006.
28,300
Number of jewelry stores in the U.S. in 2006.
Working moms and moms-to-be
5.3 million
Number of stay-at-home moms in 2008.
57%
Among mothers 15 to 50 with infants in 2006, the percentage in the labor force.
757,616
Number of child care centers across the country in 2006. These include 73,755 centers employing 831,361 workers and another 683,861 self-employed people or other businesses without paid employees.
67%
Percentage of women who gave birth for the first time between 2001 and 2003 and worked during their pregnancy.
83%
The percentage of mothers who went back to work within a year of their child’s birth who returned to the same employer.
Single moms
9.8 million
The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18, up from 3.4 million in 1970.
6.1 million
Number of custodial mothers entitled to child support in 2005.
36%
Percentage of women 15 to 50 with a birth in the past year who weren’t currently married.
So happy Mother’s Day to you fantastic 82.8 million moms in America. I hope your day is great and that you’re able to have a wonderful celebration.
My next post will be on “What to Buy a Baby Boomer Mom for Mother’s Day.”
