The number of babies born to unmarried couples who are living together in America has increased dramatically during the past decade, according to a new report by the National Center for Health Statistics.

"We were a little surprised in such a short time period to see these increases," Gladys Martinez, a demographer and the lead author of the report, said.

About 23 percent of the reported births in the study -- based on face-to-face interviews of 22,000 men and women from 2006 through 2010 -- were to unmarried heterosexual couples who were cohabiting when the child was born. In 2002, the figure from a similar study was 14 percent.

"...Girls who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely, as teenagers, to become pregnant. In that case, they're likely to be single mothers who raise their children in father-absent homes, perpetuating and compounding the original problem. And the wheel keeps on turnin'.

Name the problem and it's almost a certainty that kids from father-absent homes are significantly more at risk for it. Even though the above litany was meant to be mind-boggling, consider that I had to be selective. Newspapers don't give me enough space to do more than scratch the surface.

But here's something that's not often talked about: Children of unmarried, cohabiting parents are at higher risk for most of these same problems as well. That means the real problem isn't so much the absence of a father in the life of a child; it's the absence of a husband. More specifically, it's the absence of a marriage..."

More British children are being raised by single parents because the tax and benefit system “encourages transient shack-ups”.

One in five British children live with a single mother or father. This figure is some 35 per cent higher than in Germany and 50 per cent higher than in France.

Researcher and author Patricia Morgan points out that these are the countries whose tax and benefits systems reward parents who stay together.

She said: “You can look at these figures and see immediately which countries help couples through tax and benefits.

“In France, people get help if they draw up legal family contracts. In Germany, Holland and Italy, married people get tax relief and tax relief for children.”

She added: “By contrast, our system encourages transient shack-ups.”

"...we were like an increasing number of middle-class couples who co-habit, have children and see no reason to formalise their shared commitment to a lifelong future with a wedding ceremony.

And yet, it seems it wasn’t enough. Because despite all those years together, and all those children, David and I are now in the process of splitting up. We are divorcing without ever having married.

..herein lies an uncomfortable thought. While it pains me to say so, I can’t help thinking that our situation might have been different if we’d got married.

For years, I told myself — and others — that marriage for me was just a word, a formality, and that David and I were as close as any married couple. Now I’m not so sure. Maybe, if we had made a proper commitment in front of our friends and loved ones, if we had said those binding, meaningful words, we might not be in this situation.