Fertility Rates Are Declining: Could It Impact Me?

Data tells us that the fertility rate in the United States is dropping, and has been for some years now. Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking birth rates, the statistics have seen various ups and downs, but this steady decline in recent years has plenty of people concerned.

Whatever your age or your current position on having children, learning how fertility rates could impact you is crucial. Whether you’re looking to have your first baby, are interested in having a second or third child, or if children are a distant speck on the horizon, make sure you know the important facts about fertility decline first.

About the Decline

The fertility rate ultimate measures how many children women are having and considers that number in comparison to national averages in previous years, and to the current population overall. When these fertility rates decline, economists worry about the effect on the growth general population, and they speculate about potential causes for the upset. The current decline first began in 2008 when the recession hit, and has continued somewhat steadily since. Just this year, 2018, the decline has reached an ultimate low, which is 60.2 births for every 1,000 U.S. women of childbearing age, which is 3% lower than three years ago.

Potential Reasons

The fertility rate can change for several different reasons, but it is usually caused by fluctuations in the economic climate or other social changes. According to an article in the New York Times, the current fertility rate decline is likely partially due to the recession because families across the U.S. are waiting for more financial stability before they have children. Another significant reason is that more and more women are waiting until they’re older to have children.

More women are concentrating on expanding their careers in the 20’s, rather than having children, and are instead looking to start families later in life once their professional lives are more established.

Fertility Preservation

Fertility preservation really comes down to one central issue—protecting the woman’s eggs. Men are fertile and able to reproduce for a much longer duration than women are, unless they have fertility issues or health problems, which is why most acts of fertility preservation revolve around the female input.

As mentioned above, many women are declining to have children in their 20’s or even their 30’s because they are focusing on their careers or other goals. For this reason, more and more women are choosing to freeze their eggs so that they can focus on their life in the present and revisit the subject of children at a later day. By freezing their eggs, women open the door to a plethora of parenting opportunities that might not have been available to them otherwise. Rather than worry about their biological clock, women who freeze their eggs can choose to have their babies at a later date with the comfort of knowing that they have healthy, viable eggs to use when they see fit.

Are you interested in egg preservation, or do you have other questions about fertility? Contact Palm Beach Fertility Center to discuss your situation with our Boca Raton fertility specialists.