Mountain View, California, is a city in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to Google and many other hi-tech companies. The average house sells for over one million dollars, but almost half that number can barely afford a two-bedroom apartment. Many neighborhoods reflect the diversity of this economic division: wealthy Caucasians, newly arrived Asian immigrants, and African Americans who are less recent arrivals. Many people often ask whether race affects fertility levels. For example, is South Asian Fertility in Mountain View different from Caucasian fertility? Let us find out:
What The Statistics Say
The Fertility and Family Surveys (FFS) conducted by Statistics Canada in 2000 and 2010 reveal that South Asian women born in Canada have the highest fertility level of all immigrant groups; this is true among Muslim and Hindu women. The total fertility rate (TFR), which takes into account the probability of having a live birth over a woman’s reproductive life (age 15-49), is 2.4 children per woman among South Asians (all religious affiliations), which is 50% higher than the rate of 1.8 for Caucasian women in Canada, and also much higher than the national average of 1.5 children per woman.
The 2010 FFS shows fertility rates are highest among South Asian Muslim women (2.9), followed by South Asian Hindu women (2.8). In contrast, South Asian Sikh women and Caucasian Christian women have a fertility rate of 1.6 children per woman.
How Does Race Affect Fertility?
Fertility levels vary between racial groups because of several factors, including lifestyle choices. For example, South Asian women have a higher fertility rate partly because they are less likely to use contraceptives than Caucasian women. They are often more loyal to their religion or culture, which deems contraception morally or spiritually wrong, than Caucasian women.
Fertility rates also vary according to the educational attainment of South Asian groups. The 2010 FFS shows that fertility rates are lowest among South Asian women with a postgraduate degree (1.3) and highest among those without a high school diploma (3.4). This pattern is typical of immigrant groups, irrespective of ethnicity or place of birth. It can be explained that higher fertility rates are often associated with lower employment and income levels among women.
In addition to prematurity and low birth weight, known risk factors for infant death, South Asian infants often face higher mortality rates than Caucasians. A Canadian study of infant deaths found that for the first 28 days of life, infant mortality is 58% higher among South Asians than Caucasians. The researchers suggest that this could be due to gestational diabetes and obesity.
Fertility Rates Among Different Races
In the United States, about 16% of all babies born each year are from a mixed-race background. The fertility rates for some races are as follows: Asian, 1.5 children per woman; Black, 2.1 children per woman; Hispanic, 3.8 children per woman; and Caucasian, 2.0 children per woman.
Racial differences in fertility rates are affected by many factors, including the number of children desired (which varies between races) and lifestyle choices. For example, South Asians have a higher fertility rate partly because they are less likely to use contraceptives than Caucasian women. According to Statistics Canada, South Asian women were more than twice as likely as Caucasian women to be without a high school diploma, half as likely to have a post-graduate degree, and 3.1 times more likely to work in unskilled occupations. These factors are linked with higher fertility rates.
