A new government report is out today that the U.S. birth rate declined by 1 percent in 2011.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2011 preliminary number of US births was 3,953,593 - 45,793 less than in 2010. The report also noted that general fertility rate declined to its lowest rate ever reported for the United States.

According to the report, the birth rate for Hispanic teenagers fell 11 percent from 2010 to 2011 and has dropped 34 percent from 2007 to 2011, the largest decline of any population group.

The preliminary general fertility rate for two of the three largest race and Hispanic origin groups declined, down 6 percent for Hispanic women and 2 percent for non-Hispanic black, whereas the rate for nonHispanic white women was essentially unchanged. According to the repost, the general fertility rate decreased for 19 states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah - in 2011.

According to the report, preterm births declined among each of the largest race and Hispanic origin groups from 2010 to 2011; non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic infants. Since 2006, the preterm rate has declined 8-9 percent for non-Hispanic 6white and non-Hispanic black infants, and 5 percent for Hispanic infants .

The report showed that the percentage of births in cesarean deliveries rose nearly 60 percent from 1996 through 2009 and has been stagnant ever since.