According to a report by Pew Research, both immigrant and native-born Latinos experienced steeper birthrate declines from 2007 to 2010 than other groups, including non-Latino whites, blacks, and Asians.
The report details that in 2011, the overall American birthrate hit a record low, with 63 births per 1000 women ages 15 to 44. The decline in birthrates was steepest among Mexican-American women and women who immigrated from Mexico, at 25.7%.
Interviews with young Latinas and reproductive health experts report that the top reasons behind the decline in births are the wider availability of information about contraceptives and women’s health, coupled with higher levels of education.
“Before, I probably would have been pressured to have more,” says Jersey Garcia, a Latino public health worker in Miami who was interviewed. “I think living in the United States, I don’t have family members close by to help me, and it takes a village to raise a child. So the feeling is, keep what you have right now.”
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health had previously stated that poverty, lack of insurance, and immigration status often blocked Latinas from accessing contraception.
“There needs to be real-life situations in the contraception conversation,” says Guzman Beard, Staff Member of Latino Leadership. “At the end of the day, we can’t tell families how many children to have, but if you’re already in a position where you don’t have enough money to care for them, that you’re unemployed, that you don’t have stable housing, why would you be adding more children to that mix?”
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