Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis became the driving force behind Mother’s Day and asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
How Many Mothers
43.5 million. Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who have children. These mothers gave birth to 95.8 million children
3.9 million. Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in the past 12 months.
35.8%. Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months who were unmarried.
How Many Children
62.9. Number of births per 1,000 women age 15-44 in 2014, up slightly (less than 1 percent) from 2013.
22.3%. Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who have had two children. About 42.4 percent had no children, 17 percent had one, 11.7 percent had three, and about 6.8 percent had four or more.
Characteristics of Women with a Recent Birth
3.988 million. The number of registered births in 2014, which was 1 percent more than in 2013. Of this number, 249,078 were to teens 15 to 19.
61.8%. Percentage of women age 16 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months who were in the labor force.
31.3%. The percentage of women who had given birth in the past 12 months who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Stay-at-Home Moms
5.2 million. Number of stay-at-home moms in married couple family groups in 2015.
Taking Care of the Kids
868,975. Number of people employed at one of the 74,344 child day care services across the country in 2014. In addition, there were 688,728 child day care services without paid employees in 2013. Many mothers turn to these centers to help juggle motherhood and careers.
Single Moms
9.9 million. The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2015, up from 7.7 million in 1985.
415,617. Number of women age 15 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months and were living with a cohabiting partner.
Mothers Celebrated
13,765. Number of florists nationwide in 2014. The 61,170 employees in floral shops across our nation will be especially busy preparing, selling and delivering floral arrangements for Mother’s Day.
15,687. Number of employees of greeting-card publishers in 2014.
15,997. The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in 2014. Perfume is a popular gift given on Mother’s Day.
22,655. Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2014 — the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.
Alicja Otap
