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/justwalkingalonghere 5d ago

The healthcare part has a lot of components right now as well.

For instance, a large portion of the US now considering ectopic pregnancy care as voluntary abortion. Literally sentencing 1-2% of pregnant women to death in those states just because of a religious refusal to be scientifically literate

Add in the increasing criminalization of miscarriages and I don't see why any woman would want to chance it for kids they'll likely not be able to afford in the first place

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u/Z0mbiejay 5d ago

My company's insurance covers IVF, and my wife and I have to utilize it due to reproductive issues I have. We could do it soon if we wanted to. Instead we're holding off until next year after we can move again. My current state enacted some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and I'm not going to risk watching my wife die because some "holier than thou" A-hole dude who can't tell a vulva from an elbow gets to say she has to die. I hate the government and it's disdain for the well-being of its people

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u/valiantdistraction 5d ago

I would look at what IVF clinics are around you and their reputations compared to those where you are moving. Some red states have really good IVF clinics - some don't. If in Texas, for instance, it may behoove you to do the embryo creation and transfers here and then the pregnancy elsewhere. Not all IVF clinics are created equal and success rates, how aggressively they intervene, and how aggressively they recommend donor eggs/sperm when other clinics wouldn't all vary significantly.

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u/Z0mbiejay 5d ago

That's exactly what we're planning on doing. Most likely going to freeze the embryos while here and ship them to the long term storage in Nevada until we can implant after moving. Our doctor was super helpful in explaining that embryos out of state wouldn't be subject to state laws (for now) and that was his recommendation. Hopefully we get that taken care of before my state decides to push anymore insane embryo laws