The stereotype has always been there, but a recent study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy provided a hard number to the startling phenomenon of teen pregnancy in the American Latino communities: 53% of young Latina get pregnant in their teens, twice the national average:
In 2007, the birth rate among non-Hispanic whites ages 15 to 19 was 27.2 per 1,000, and 64.3 per 1,000 for non-Hispanic black teens in the same age range. The teen birth rate among Hispanic teens ages 15 to 19 was 81.7 per 1,000. [...]
Three-quarters of Latino teens said their parents have talked to them about sex and relationships, but only half said their parents discussed contraception.
The survey also found that:
• 74 percent of Latino teens believe that parents send one message about sex to their sons and a different message altogether to their daughters, possibly related to the Latino value of machismo.
• Latino teens believe that the most common reason teens do not use contraception is that they are afraid their parents might find out.
Moni Basu of CNN has more on the findings: Link
And then, if lucky, be chosen based on gender and race and not merit, to legislate from the bench in the highest court of the United States.
@ Madcap, bambinos are for Italian people, and grammas are for Americans. Hispanic women have "bebes", and a grandmother is an "abuela".
every girl in my family has had at least one kid before they turned 19.
i turned 19 last thursday.
no babies yet.
but i'm gay so that might have something to do with it.