While it is still the case that most mothers are married when they have children, there has been a recent surge in children born to young, unmarried women. According to recent data, more than half of women who have children under the age of 30 are not married at the time of their child's birth.

And because nearly two-thirds of U.S. children are born to women under 30, this means that the number of children from single parent households may soon be hitting an all-time high. This could lead to a significant increase in petitions for child support and child custody, among other family court issues.

In recent years, the number of children born outside of marriage has increased significantly in Ohio and in much of the country. This increase in single parenthood can be attributed to several factors: the increasing acceptance of cohabitation, the rise in women working outside the home and the concurrent decline in their reliance on men for their financial well-being, and the general relaxation of social norms that previously referred to a child born outside of marriage as 'illegitimate.'

There are interesting factors that seem to indicate whether women will have children inside or outside of marriage.

Education, for example, appears to influence women's decisions the most. College graduates are more likely to get married before having children, with more than 90 percent of women with a college degree giving birth after marriage. In contrast, about 60 percent of women with some post-secondary education and 40 percent of women with a high school diploma or less are married when they give birth.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch, "Culture shift: Single moms a new normal," Jason DeParle, Feb. 18, 2012