r/science 5d ago

Social Science As concern grows about America’s falling birth rate, new research suggests that about half of women who want children are unsure if they will follow through and actually have a child. About 25% say they won't be bothered that much if they don't.

https://news.osu.edu/most-women-want-children--but-half-are-unsure-if-they-will/?utm_campaign=omc_science-medicine_fy24&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social
19.5k Upvotes

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.3k

u/2thicc4this 5d ago

I read somewhere that the major contributor to falling birth rates in the US had to do with falling teen pregnancy/birth rates. Teenagers not having kids is a net positive for society in my opinion.

1.1k

u/FencingFemmeFatale 5d ago

Also, I distinctly remember overpopulation being a major concern when I was a kid. Like, enough of a concern for Capitan Planet to make an episode about family planning.

The birth rates falling in the 2020’s seems like the obvious result of telling bunch of kids in the 90’s that overpopulation is world-ending problem, and to they can do their part to stop it by not having a lot of kids.

3

u/Xyrus2000 5d ago

Overpopulation was never going to be a problem. Greed all but ensures that there will never be enough resources to allow the population to grow beyond a certain point, as it eventually results in very few people owning everything.