Guatemalans Have More Babies Guatemala City, May 6. Guatemalan women give birth to more children than women anywhere else in the hemisphere, according to Guatemalan fertility expert Roberto Santizo. According to Santizo, the main causes of high fertility are lack of access to education and services. In Guatemala, only 60 percent of the population has access to health care, he noted. Women's groups also point to patriarchal traditions that measure the worth of a man by the number of children he has, the economic investment children represent for poor families, and the custom of early marriages in rural areas, as factors contributing t o the fertility rate.
Abortion is illegal in Guatemala, except when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.
One in five young women between the ages of 18 and 19 have a child, and 14 percent have two or more. Cubans have the fewest children, at 1.8 per woman, followed by Canada, at 1.9.