Are finances to blame for the falling birth rate in the Americas?

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According to the latest data from the US Census Bureau, the US population has grown at the slowest rate since the 1930s in the past decade. And while there are many factors that could be contributing to a drop in the birth rate, it seems finances are playing a role.

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A recent survey by health data management company Harmony Healthcare IT of women aged 18 to 51 without children found that among those who do not plan to have children or do not know if they want to of children, 44% cite financial reasons as the reason. Of all the women surveyed, 62% said the cost of raising a child made it difficult for them to start a family.

The complex relationship between motherhood and finances

While it may appear that financially well-off women would be more likely to have children than those in financial difficulty, this is not always the case.

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There is a messy relationship between finance and childbirth, said Fergus Hodgson, director of Econ Americas. Poorer countries and communities tend to have higher birth rates. In addition, women with higher incomes face a higher opportunity cost of childbirth. In other words, women who succeed in important careers sacrifice more to have children than those who work in less lucrative fields.

As women focus more on their careers, they may become less family oriented

Additionally, as women become more successful in their careers, they may choose to forgo marriage and motherhood altogether.

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What many of these women are probably saying, if one reads between the lines, is that they cannot find men to marry with sufficient earning capacity for women to want to marry and focus on home and family life, Hodgson said. This is a long-term trend going back decades as women have become economically independent and have raised their expectations of their willingness to become housewives.

The story continues

Since this is a long-term trend, Hodgson doesn’t think the birth rate will continue to fall.

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Since the origins of this trend can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, with ramifications now largely evident, reduced birth rates are expected to flatten out and not deepen, he said.

Many women do not have the opportunity to leave the labor market

While some women may actively choose to stay in the workforce, others simply cannot afford time off to have children.

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A recent report from the US Department of Agriculture found that a child’s first year of life costs parents $ 12,500, an expense many young couples cannot afford, said Liam Hunt, financial writer. and analyst at SophisticatedInvestor.com. In addition, the costs of raising children are inherently sexist. The emotional and physical labor of raising children often forces the mother to take time off from work. However, women now make up the majority of the U.S. workforce, and more households are dependent on two-parent income than ever before. Given the financial responsibilities of raising children, it is simply economically impractical for households that cannot afford to pay. [have a partner] withdraw from the labor market.

Current economic factors make it impossible for some to afford to have children

The ever-rising cost of living, rising inflation and the unaffordability of child care services have made starting a family impossible for many and downright irresponsible for some, Hunt said. In the absence of affordable public child care and expanded maternity and paternity leave benefits, couples were likely to postpone child rearing until later in life.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Is Finance To Blame For America’s Falling Birth Rate?

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