Experts say the falling fertility rate reflects current social and economic problems
According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, annual birth rates in the United States have declined sharply — by 17 percent since peaking in 2007. The government’s final figures also indicate that births steadily declined by at least 2 percent last year compared with 2022, continuing a decades-long decline.
According to the newly released report, the overall fertility rate has also dropped by 21 percent over that time period, while births to teenage girls (ages 15 to 19) are part of this trend, declining by 4 percent between 2022 and 2023. In total, 3,596,017 births were recorded in the United States last year, compared to 3,667,758 the year before.
In other CDC birth data, fewer pregnant women received appropriate care in 2023 compared to 2022.
Fewer and fewer women receive prenatal care
The report highlighted a 1 percent reduction in the number of women who received prenatal care during their first trimester, and the percentage of those who received no prenatal care at all increased by 5 percent, continuing a trend seen between 2021 and 2022.
“Levels of delays and inattention have increased steadily since 2016,” the team noted in the report.
Why are birth rates falling in the United States?
Experts say the falling fertility rate reflects current social and economic problems. “For the first time in the history of our country, a 30-year-old man or woman is not doing as well as their parents were at that age. That’s the collapse of the social compact,” Scott Galloway, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told Fortune in an interview in May of this year.
Additionally, Galloway said the younger generation is facing sky-high mortgage rates, rising home prices and inflation, which is driving their need and desire to have a family until they are financially stable and have a career.
Experts say women across the country are also experiencing “growing concerns about access to reproductive health care and a politicized debate over access to abortion rights, as well as concerns about the economy, a lack of rights for working parents, and growing fears about the future of the planet.”
Moreover, the United States is not the only country facing population problems. According to a study by TThe lancet198 of 204 countries are likely to experience a population decline by 2100.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.