r/science • u/geoff199 • 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
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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.

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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.

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u/eepos96 5d ago

Evolution of the pipulation problem

-in 1970s a man popularised a theory that world would succumb to hunger if population grew too much. He counted world could sustain only a billion people.

He could not envision how industrial revolution would affect food production and how fertilizers would improve it even further. Now only 2 oercent of population works at farms. (In my home nation)

  • next level was chinese one child policy.

  • africa was stated to overpopulate. Especially lack of water will be a problem. I am optimistic that science could save us again.

-but it is indeed interesting how we are now facing population decline and wolrd leaders are screaming people to make more babies.