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New Report Show Declining Birth Rate In USA


There's a new trend showing itself in the USA.  Families are getting smaller.  The Pew Research Center says in 2011 the American birth rate hit a record low, almost exactly half of what it was during the baby boom years of the 1950s.  And immigrant families which were leading the country in births are now leading the retreat. 

Here's an amazing statistic:  The birthrate for women who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico is down 17.1 percent in just the last five years.  One immigrant family says it’s a sign of the economic times.  Father of one, Javier Corona tells us that life was a little better before.  Now they have two or three children, nothing more, not five or six because they don't have enough.  He says life is now harder.

The report blames the declining birth rate in part to a decline in adherence to traditional Roman Catholic teachings.  But church members say the change also reflects a change in values.  The “Me Generation” just doesn’t have the attitude of sacrifice that is required to raise children.  But the birth rate isn't washed up yet.  In fact, experts say if history is any indication when the economy booms again the baby boom will return, too.

By Fred Cantu