It's true, Latinas are contributing most to the declining U.S. birth rate - read the report | Multi-American

One piece of news that made headlines today is the declining U.S. birth rate, with Latinos leading the trend. You heard right. After years of having to listen to their relatively high fertility rate being discussed as an immigration issue, it's Latinas who are contributing most to the decline.

Registered births in the U.S. declined 3 percent between 2009 and 2011, a trend that began some years ago and which experts are attributing in part to the economy. The report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breaks it down by ethnic group and age. (To download the entire report, click on the link below or to the side, then on "First Decline in Cesarean Delivery Rate in Over a Decade" on the CDC site.) Highlights from the report:

Source: Cdc

In 2010, the preliminary estimate of registered births for the United States was 4,000,279 - 130,386 births fewer (or 3 percent less) than in 2009 (4,130,665).

Births were down for all race and Hispanic origin groups, declining 5 percent for Hispanic women, 4 percent for American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) women, 3 percent for non-Hispanic black women, and 2 percent for Asian or Pacific Islander (API) and non-Hispanic white women.

The preliminary general fertility rate (GFR) for 2010 was 64.1 births per 1,000 women age 15-44 years, 3 percent below the rate in 2009 (66.2) and the lowest rate reported since the late 1990s.

Rates were down for all race and Hispanic origin groups, declining 7 percent for Hispanic women, 6 percent for AIAN women, 3 percent for API and non-Hispanic black women, and 2 percent for non-Hispanic white women.