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Celebrating Mom: Mother’s Day history dates to early 1900s

By Staff Report - | May 4, 2011

Jimmy Gillispie

Jody Moritz shares a moment with her daughter Aspen at a Mother’s Day Tea in 2010.

Mother’s Day is Sunday, and the U.S. Census Bureau has shared a plethora of information about the annual observance

Q: What are the roots of Mother’s Day?

A: The driving force behind Mother’s Day was Anna Jarvis, who on May 10, 1908, organized observances in Grafton, W. Va., and Philadelphia. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Q: Just how many mothers are we talking about in the United States?

A: The estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2008 was 85.4 million.

Q: Are more women, as a percentage of the total, becoming mothers these days?

A: Eighty-two percent of women ages 40 to 44 had given birth as of 2008. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group had given birth.

Q: How many babies are born each year in the United States?

A: There were 4.13 million births registered in the United States in 2009.

Q: How many stay-at-home moms are there?

A: The number of stay-at-home moms in 2010 was 5 million, down from 5.1 million in 2009 and 5.3 million in 2008 (though the estimates for 2010 and 2009 are not statistically different).