In down economy, Arizona has fewer births

by Ginger Rough - Dec. 30, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona's anti-illegal-immigration laws and the poor economy have had a chilling effect on the number of babies born in the state.

Newly released figures from the state's Department of Health Services show a 7 percent drop in the number of infant births in the past year alone and a more than 10 percent drop over the past two years.

Much of that drop has come in births to Hispanic mothers, state data show.

There were more Latino babies born each year in Arizona from 2003 to 2008 than any other ethnicity. But in the past two years, thousands of Latinos, both legal and illegal, have left in search of jobs and a friendlier climate.

Valley obstetricians and statisticians say they aren't necessarily surprised by the overall drop in births: Historically, couples have put off starting or expanding their families in tight economic times.

"We've seen this since the Great Depression," said Dr. Dean Coonrod, chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Maricopa Medical Center.

"I think people just decide that it's going to cost a lot to have a baby, so they put it off . . . until they feel more secure," Coonrod added.

Data provided by the DHS' Office of Vital Records show that 84,368 babies were born in the first 11 months of 2009, compared with 90,876 in the same period in 2008.

In the first 11 months of 2007, 94,110 babies were born in Arizona.

That is a "significant" drop, said Christopher Mrela, a statistician for the DHS.

A blending of factors

Mrela believes a combination of factors related to the economy, including unemployment, foreclosures and a decrease in the number of new residents choosing to call Arizona home, are contributing to the trend.

But the impact of the state's anti-illegal-immigration efforts, particularly the nearly 2-year-old employer-sanctions law, cannot be ignored, he said.

That law punishes companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Since the law took effect, Arizona's undocumented-immigrant population has decreased by about a third, according to a report commissioned in July by a Washington, D.C., think tank that favors less immigration.

The number of babies born to Hispanic mothers dropped by 6.8 percent, to 42,639, from 2007 to 2008.

So far this year, there have been 3,193 fewer births among Hispanics compared with 2008.

"2001-07, the major force of population dynamics in Arizona was the in-migration, rather than an increase in births over deaths," Mrela said in an e-mail.

"Since 2008, because of all the factors mentioned, Arizona isn't really an inviting state."

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