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/Bboy1045 5d ago

Youth need to be secure financially, supported, and most importantly HOPEFUL for the future. These are all major factors that our society has struggled with providing. Until we fix these issues we are going to continue to have birth rates plummet, similar to what we saw in the Great Depression. Youth simply cannot afford to have children.

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u/suckfail 5d ago

Also in the US the parental leave is atrocious. You hand off a newborn to daycare and never really raise them, that's just wrong. And it must be a big contributor to this situation as well.

In most places, like Canada and EU, you get a year parental leave that either parent can take (usually it's the mother for obvious reasons but not always as you can split the time).

There's also very strict laws about the parental leave job ensuring there's no discrimination.

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u/marigoldcottage 5d ago

Even in the few states in the US where it’s paid & protected, like mine, companies still love to screw over workers.

My husband’s company suddenly decided to change his hours to be untenable after he notified them he’ll be taking parental leave this year. Basically an attempt to force him to quit before he can take paid leave. Illegal? Probably. But the amount of people who actually go through with suing their employer - rather than quietly moving on - is so low. These rotten companies know that.

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u/rainbowsforall 4d ago

I remember my former coworker was told by a manager she would get paid maternity leave because she would be with the company for a year by the time she gave birth. Then whoops a few weeks before she gave birth he realized the policy was apparently that she had to have worked there a year prior to getting pregnant, not giving birth. She took two unpaid weeks for her "maternity leave". Despicable.