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Women have been able to serve officially in the U.S. military since 1901. Both the number of women serving in the active component and their occupational roles have steadily increased and expanded. Currently, almost one in seven active component service members are female and more than 95% of military occupational specialties are open to women. This infographic summarizes data on the demographic and military characteristics of women including women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) in the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces during 2012 – 2016. Data on pregnancy-related care and birth rates are also presented. FINDINGS • In 2016, WOCBP comprised the vast majority of active component service women. • 202,849 women served in the active component of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps. 197,947 (97.6%) were WOCBP. Pie chart displays depicting this information. • In 2016, 13.1% of all WOCBP had at least one pregnancy-related event. Pie chat displays depicting this information. Female stick figures display to show visual of the largest proportions of WOCBP. Breakdown of WOCBP by service: • Army (32.9%) • Air Force (30.0%) • Navy (29.7%) • Marine Corps (7.5%) Pie chart displays to visually depict breakdown of WOCBP by service. The largest proportions of WOCBP were: • In a communications / intelligence occupation (32.3%) • Junior enlisted rank (46.5%) • Non-Hispanic white (43.4%) • 20 – 24 years old (34.3%) Live births: • There were 63,879 live births during the surveillance period. • Overall live birth rate was 64.9 live births per 1,000 person-years (p-yrs). This rate of live births decreased steadily from 69.8 per 1,000 p-yrs in 2012 to 59.7 per 1,000 p-yrs in 2016. Line graph displays this information. Rates of live births were highest among: • Women who were 30 – 34 years old • Enlisted or junior officer rank • Army • In healthcare / intelligence occupations • Married Access the full report in the November 2017 MSMR (Vol. 24, No. 11). Go to: www.Health.mil/MSMR

This infographic summarizes data on the demographic and military characteristics of women including women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) in the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces during 2012 – 2016. Data on pregnancy-related care and birth rates are also presented.

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