Estimates are that one out of every four women in the U.S. will be a Latina by 2050. However, despite their growing numbers, Latinas continue to face serious health care access barriers and, consequently, higher incidences of disease and poorer health outcomes, especially in the area of reproductive health. The reasons for these outcomes are complex. Poverty, lack of insurance, limited access to health care, language barriers, discriminatory treatment and lack of awareness of health risks contribute to poorer health outcomes for Latinas. Latina Health Stats: 1. Only 38% of Latinas, age 40 and older, have regular mammograms. 2. One out of every three Latinas reported that they failed to get a pap test in the preceding three years--compared with one-quarter of all American women. 3. The rate of maternal mortality among Latinas is 1.7 times higher than for white women. 4. The Latina teen pregnancy rate is more than twice the rate of white women and the rate of chlamydia among Latinas is more than 3.5 times higher than for white women.

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