Virgin births make up 0.5% of deliveries: IVF, chastity pledges, and the problem with imprinting genes

December 19, 2013

With Christmas all but a week away, what better way for scientists to spend the holiday season than researching modern day cases of virgin birth? As it turns out, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found the number to be slightly greater than zero. In fact, out of the 7,870 women surveyed as part of the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), 0.5 percent of respondents confirmed their status as virgins who, without the use of assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization, still reported having given birth. (Medical Daily)