Births Higher Among Hispanic Women Than Among Non-Hispanics, Report Finds

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Fertility
Article Date: 12 May 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Hispanic women in the U.S. have higher fertility rates than non-Hispanic women, and unmarried Hispanic women born in the U.S. are more likely to have children than single immigrant Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, according to an analysis released on Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center, the AP/Hartford Courant reports (Gamboa, AP/Hartford Courant, 5/8). For the report, lead researcher Felisa Gonzalez and others analyzed data from the 2006 American Community Survey, a U.S. Census Bureau survey of about three million U.S. households (Hispanic Women in the United States 2007 report, 5/8).

The study found that there were 84 births per 1,000 Hispanic women, compared with 63 births per 1,000 non-Hispanic women. In addition, there were 73 births per 1,000 Hispanic women born in the U.S., compared with 96 births per 1,000 immigrant Hispanic women. Overall, about 50% of Hispanic children were born to unmarried women, although the percentage of single immigrant Hispanics who gave birth -- about 35% -- was nearly the same as for non-Hispanic women, the report found.

Census Bureau data released last week state that Hispanics account for about 15.1% of the U.S. population and one out of every four children in the U.S. under age five. The nation's Hispanic population is expected to grow as new births outnumber new immigrants, according to the AP/Courant (AP/Hartford Courant, 5/8).

The report is available online (.pdf).

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