The Department of Health Services reports fewer than 65-thousand babies were born in Wisconsin in 2017. A drop in the number of teen pregnancies is the biggest contributing factor in the lowest number of births the state has seen in 44 years. The report’s author says teen births have dropped by 60 percent over the last decade. Wisconsin Public Radio reports babies with a low birth weight are increasing in number and premature birth is the leading cause of infant death, according to the Wisconsin March of Dimes.
