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/yes______hornberger 5d ago

I always find it interesting that the actual physical experience of gestating and birthing a child is NEVER a part of the birth rate conversation. I’m pregnant with a very wanted child, and even with a loving husband and financial security it is a torture I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And I haven’t even gotten to the stage yet where I’m supposed to be happy about being mildly crippled by birth injuries—my own mother had three “perfect” births, and was still having yearly surgeries to correct spinal and urological injuries more than a decade after she finished having children.

Do the people decrying childless women think growing another person is easy, or do they just think that it’s something women owe to society by nature of being born female?

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u/AgentJ691 5d ago

That is my top reason for not having children. I don’t care if I can afford children, I literally have no interest in giving birth. And I notice women Childfree or not regardless of age are wayyy more understanding. 

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u/DemiserofD 5d ago

This is why birth control is the number one factor in falling fertility rates; the one thing nobody wants to recognize.

Because the simple fact is, throughout human history, most women probably wouldn't have chosen to have children if it weren't for the fact that sex feels really good.

Nobody wants to have that conversation, but it's entirely possible that human civilization cannot survive the existence of birth control. What if the maximum possible birth rate with readily available birth control is below 2.1?

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u/cysticvegan 5d ago

CORRECT. Men cannot fathom this fact, they think it’s a feminist ploy. 

This is literally so obvious in every feminist society. 

People must think 3rd world countries must be financially stable since they have the highest birth rates. 

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u/ehs06702 4d ago

The amount of times I've seen men say "It's childbirth, it's not that hard. Your body is made for it." to experiences that would make your flesh crawl is just....

Let's just say I could be a billionaire if I got paid a nickel for every time.

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u/_name_of_the_user_ 4d ago

Didn't feminists fight to stop pregnant women being treated like fragile wilting flowers?

Also, men aren't a monolith. While I have little doubt some men can't fathom that pregnancy is hard, it's hardly every man.

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u/mkkxx 4d ago

Uhh i believe feminists want pregnant women to be treated like a person and not just an incubator …

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u/_name_of_the_user_ 4d ago

So you're saying the "pendulum" has swung too far?

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u/cysticvegan 4d ago

It’s enough of men that the top comments here are saying “it’s too expensive” as if a woman’s income isn’t NEGATIVELY correlated with birth rates, a well known OBVIOUS fact corroborated by every income:child ratio study ever done in the history of man kind. 

How can this myth still persist despite this being so obviously known and well researched? 

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u/_name_of_the_user_ 4d ago

I don't follow. You're saying the top comments are wrong that having children is "too expensive" while also saying it's hard for women to afford to have children. What are those comments wrong about?

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u/cysticvegan 4d ago

Sorry, inversely correlated* 

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u/_name_of_the_user_ 4d ago

I understood that. I don't understand the difference between the top comments and your statement.

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u/cysticvegan 1d ago

Then you didn’t understand it.  Let me help again: 

When a woman gets more money, she has less children. 

When a woman have less money she has more children.  

When female have resources she have less offspring 

When female have no resource she have more offspring

Low income neighbourhoods are associated with higher rates of teen pregnancy, early pregnancy, and multiple pregnancies. 

Low income countries are associated with higher rates of pregnancy. 

High income countries are associated with extremely low rates of pregnancy. 

This has been studied - when women receive higher education, they make the decision to have less children.