BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A recent trend among young adults, when it comes to family planning, may mean fewer babies are born in the United States, in the coming years.
It comes, in part, from concerns about the environment.
7 News wanted to take a few minutes for an in-depth look at this trend.
As the birth rate in the U.S. are in decline, it shows the fertility rate from the end of the baby boom in 1960 through 2020, according to the World Bank Data.
On average, in 1960, women were having three to four babies through their childbearing years. That number has dropped to less than two.
The percentage of adults, ages 18 to 49, who do not have kids and likely will not have kids, has increased in the last four years, according to the Pew Research Center.
More parents in the same age range also said they do not plan on having more kids.
A University at Buffalo professor explained what is causing this trend.
"I think it's important to keep in mind that the declines that we're seeing today are actually, really, really small compared to decades past," Graduate Studies director for the University at Buffalo's department of sociology, Dr. Ashley Barr said.
The family scholar said this is a trend that is seen across developed countries.
"Reasons positive for that include a general increase in education, particularly of women. So, people are generally, as we see an increase in education, along with that is this sort of more extended transition to adulthood," Dr. Barr said.
According to a study done by Pew Research from 2018 to 2021, 56% of childless adults do not want kids. Forty-three percent cited "other reasons" like medical reasons, financial reasons, having no partner or age, with only 5% of "other" stating climate change.
"A lot of it has to do with the lack of support for parents in the U.S., especially for mothers. So, for instance, we lack national paid parental leave policy. We are the only developed country to lack a paid parental leave policy. We have an absence of universal childcare. Parents are spending a lot of money in this country to pay for childcare. The average cost in New York for infant care is over $15,000 a year," she explained.
Unequal access to healthcare in the nation, plus increasing rates of maternal mortality, in the U.S. are also factors.
According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, for every 100,000 births in the U.S. in 2020, nearly 24 women died during or just after childbirth. This number was more than twice as high among Black women.
"Pregnancy is fairly dangerous in this country, and childbirth is entirely dangerous in this country, compared to other developed countries. We are actually seeing an increase in maternal mortality in the U.S., in the last few years, especially for Black and Hispanic women," Dr. Barr added.
She also said the U.S. tends to put the burden on families for dealing with poor policy decisions.
"That is just one for indication, or one more example, of families trying to adapt or families being responsible for poor policy decisions, from the U.S. government, and quite frankly, other governments as well because climate change is not just a U.S. issue," she explain.
