© VeerBy Sasha Emmons.

According to preliminary data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the birth rate fell to its lowest point since 1920, the first year they started keeping track. Analysis by the Pew Research Center closely ties the decline to the downturn in the economy, starting around 2008.

Plus: Pre-term Birth Rate Lowest in a Decade

The birth rate is the annual number of births per 1,000 women in the prime childbearing ages of 15 to 44. It was 63.2 in 2011, a dip of 8% since 2007. This decrease is led by immigrant women, who experienced a 14% drop in fertility rates since 2007. Mexican women comprised the steepest decline, at 23%.

"If you apply the common sense lens here, when it comes to decisions about when to have children, how many and how to space them, the economy clearly matters," said Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, told CNN. It's unclear how much of a role the trend to marry later in life,

By Jessica Ashley, GalTime.com Senior Editor

Prince William and Kate Middleton prince william and kate middleton announce pregnancy. is it too soon to buy a gift?

With the announcement that a Royal Baby is on the way to Prince William and wife Kate Middleton, surely the castle gates will soon be lined with gifts bestowed upon the heir-to-be. That is, if the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen and Uncle Harry are anything like the scads of families who can't help but fill a stocking for a fetus.

So maybe the royals aren't like every other family. Perhaps they hold tight to superstitions or faith-based traditions like some of the grandparents and parents-to-be I've known over the years, not wanting to bring any gifts or gear into the home until the baby has safely been born. Or perhaps, they are like my family, who would stack presents under the tree and fill a stocking marked "Zygote" if the opportunity presented itself.

RELATED Is it OK TO Broadcast Your Pregnancy Results

Volunteering.We spend a lot of time on charity work at this time of year. One of the most memorable ways we get involved is an annual trip to El Salvador to take gifts to the children in villages for Christmas. It's been five years since we first started making the trip. Instead of spending a lot of money on each other for Christmas presents we really focus our attention on giving to the needy in El Salvador. We'll usually go over for about a week and help in the villages.

Read More: 5 Effortless and Economical Ways to Make a Difference During the Holidays

We like to take backpacks and fill them up with toys and necessities for the children. One year, we purchased a bunch of backpacks and soccer balls, flattened them out and packed them into big duffel bags as our checked luggage. Everyone took a small carry-on for their personal items and clothing for the trip. That way, shipping for the gifts was paid for. We've tried to keep this up every year.

Read More: Michelle Duggar on the

By GalTime's Entertainment Diva Andrea Krivelow

Kate Middleton and Prince William After a year and a half of marriage, Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their first child together.

The palace confirmed:

"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news. The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in the hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter."

RELATED Prince William Helps Kate's Parents Buy New Home

Following their November 2010 engagement, William and Kate announced they both wanted a family, but were taking it "one step at a time".

The couple is set to

InnoTab 2 Baby
InnoTab 2 BabyThis morning I opened my email to find exciting news! The first-ever tablet specially designed for babies is out for the holidays, and it's selling for the low, low price of nearly 90 bucks. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Another piece of crap babies don't really need to lure parents into the baby commerce trap!

More from The Stir: New Toys Encourage Babies to Play With REAL iPhones

Moms! Dads! You're going to need to learn the following phrase once your kid hits the toddler years anyway, so listen up: just because it's there doesn't mean you need it.

In fact, there's zero evidence in this world that babies need their own tablets. Not even the fancy schmancy InnoTab 2 Baby from VTech.

Hold on, I'm not some Luddite out here trashing tablets. I own an iPad, and my 7-year-old got a Kindle Fire for her birthday. But we're both of an age when we can actually do things like, oh, I dunno, read, and wipe our own butts. And neither of us has chewed on anything

I can't have any more children. At least none that are biologically mine.

I'll never be pregnant again.

More from The Stir: 43-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Gets Pregnant Using Her Own 37-Year-Old Eggs

A couple of weeks after our first child was born, I underwent a radical hysterectomy to remove cancer that was discovered at the time of my C-section. Having the surgery was a no brainer. It was a do it or die situation. I chose to fight to live, and that's what I'm going to continue to do for as long as I can.

But now that the cancer seems to be in remission, I'm noticing that I sometimes feel jealous around pregnant women.

Now, who knows if we would have chosen to have another child after Maggie. When she was born, I was no spring chicken at age 44. And I wasn't going to get any younger.

Plus, ours was a high risk pregnancy. We were fortunate to deliver a child with no apparent health problems. To us (and to her pediatrician), she appears to be perfect. So,

Have you heard of the "uncanny valley"? That's the theory of life-like inanimate objects. The more human they look the cuter they become, that is, until they're almost too human. Then they start to creep us out. That point of no return is called the "uncanny valley," and it's the home to a collection of dolls created by French Artist Laurence Ruet. Ruet is one of a handful of specialty doll-makers customizing "fake babies" so human-looking they're often mistaken for the real thing. But Ruet doesn't stop with babies. She's created a series of life-like kid dolls with remarkably "uncanny" human features and expressions. The result is not exactly something real kids want to hug when the lights go out.