PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Bellies are blooming more than ever as the nationwide birth rate reaches record levels. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071211/NETU036 ) Last week, the National Center for Health Statistics released the preliminary birth statistics for 2006, citing that the total number of births increased by 3% to 4,265,996, the largest number of births in over 50 years. According to the data issued, the typical pregnant woman is in her 20's and 34% of all women giving birth are in their 30's. The number of births among unmarried women reached a record high, increasing by about 8% to 1.6 million and there were over one million births documented for Hispanic women, also a record high. Rebecca Matthias, President and Chief Creative Officer of Motherhood(R) Maternity, the nation's leading designer and retailer of maternity fashion, commented on the recent statistics by saying "As the birth rate rises, our brands will continue to care for the pregnant women of America, from all backgrounds, all ages and all walks of life. Dressing over 2.8 million pregnant women a year, our leading maternity brands (including Motherhood Maternity) offer a huge variety of amazing fashions at low prices. Whether the new mom-to-be needs a stylish suit for the office, a beautiful evening dress or our fabulous new Secret Fit Belly(TM) jeans starting at $16.98, we will help her look and feel her best." To help all expectant women prepare for their exciting journey ahead, in- store fit experts are always available to assist with sizing, and belly pillows are on hand for visitors to experience the "rise" in the belly. The maternity experts at Motherhood Maternity look forward to continuing to provide expectant women nationwide with fabulous fashion and style! http://www.motherhood.com/http://www.motherhood.com/espanolhttp://www.mimimaternity.com/http://www.apeainthepod.com/http://www.destinationmaternity.com/ Mothers Work press releases available through Company News On-Call at http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/581877.html http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071211/NETU036 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Motherhood Maternity CONTACT: Judie Ashworth, +1-215-873-2283, Web site: http://www.motherhood.com/ http://www.motherhood.com/espanol http://www.mimimaternity.com/ http://www.apeainthepod.com/ http://www.destinationmaternity.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/581877.html

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