 
          
            75
          
        
        
          The total fertility rate among Mexican women
        
        
          fell byalmostonechild, from2.9childrenperwomen in
        
        
          2004 to2.1 in2011, adecrease that seemexcessive,
        
        
          and that need greater studies to explain it. The only
        
        
          group that showed an increasewasCentral and South
        
        
          Americans, where rates rose from 2.6 to 2.8 children
        
        
          perwoman (Figure65).
        
        
          
            Mexicanmothers have reduced their fertility
          
        
        
          
            for theperiod2004-2011
          
        
        
          The general fertility rate of Mexican women dropped
        
        
          considerably, from105 livebirthsper1,000women in
        
        
          2004 to73 in2011. Conversely, the rateamongCen-
        
        
          tral andSouthAmericanwomen increased from87 to
        
        
          96 livebirthsover thesameperiod.Amongnon-Hispa-
        
        
          nic African American and non-Hispanic white women
        
        
          the trendwasmore stable (Figure64).
        
        
          Source: ProducedbyCONAPObasedondata fromCenters forDiseaseControl (CDC)andPreventionand theNational
        
        
          Center forHealthStatistics (NCHS), National Vital StatisticsSystem (NVSS), Births, 2012.
        
        
          
            Figure64. General fertility rate in theUnitedStates, byoriginandethnicityor race
          
        
        
          
            ofmother, 2004-2011
          
        
        
          
            chapter iv •
          
        
        
          
            fertility and mortality among the hispanic population