The Decline of Fertility Rates


This week in my Family Relations we had an interesting discussion at the beginning of the week discussing why less children are brought into the world. We discussed some of the concerns that it might bring, for example that the population being brought in isn’t enough to replace the old population. According to an article written by IVF Greece called Less children are being born in the world, it discusses some of the recent trends talking about how less and less children are being brought, and that studies find that “there has been a remarkable global decline in the number of children that are being born, with the researchers saying that the findings are “a huge surprise”” (IVF Greece). The article also discusses how a “study followed trends in every country of the globe from 1950 to 2017” (IVF Greece). Then discovering that the average woman used to have 4.7 kids but recently the fertility rate is 2.4. Which can also mean less money going into Social Security. Also discussing the many trends that might be the cause of less children being born. Some of the trends that might be the cause of this could be society's pressure on women, and fear. Throughout recent years the decline of children being brought into the world could be caused by society’s pressure on women to lose their femininity, and fear of failing. 

For many women in the world, it can become strenuous thinking about what to do with their life. In today’s day in aged women feel the pressure every day on what the right thing to do is. And from my experience it always seems to black and white without a happy middle ground. On one side the pressure goes to focusing on your career and living their life because it will all be ruined when you have kids. Then the other side is to get married immediately after finding someone and being a housewife with your kids. And no matter which side you take you get judgment from all the people around you. For example, if you choose to wait a little while because you want to be by yourself for a little while, for some people you can be looked at as someone who is selfish and doesn't think about the future and will be alone forever if they don’t hurry up and settle down. But if you choose to settle down quicker to some people it says that you are “submitting to the man” or you're throwing yourself away too quickly and that you are going to be miserable for the rest of your life because you never lived your life to the fullest. As a woman myself this has always been really challenging because it all seems to be black and white. When I do one day want to get married and have kids, I also can’t wait to be myself for a while before I settle down, feel confident by myself, achieve my dream career and to tell all my kids all the things I did before I met their father. But with these standards it’s hard to see yourself get both of those sides. So, for some women they believe you have to choose between the two sides. And because having children is a commitment it can be easier for someone to not have kids. When I think as a society, we need to not judge anyone for what they choose to do with their lives. 

Fear becomes a big factor into the number of children being born. And people can be afraid about having children for many reasons, but I believe the main reason would be the fear of being ready. A prime example I believe of this is that some of the earlier generation had lower divorce rates whereas today we have high divorce rates. And divorce can not only be hard on parents but also the kids. So, for young adults today they don’t want their children to go through the same thing that they went through. There is also the fear of not being ready to support children, or that you won't be the perfect parent. When I have expressed these certain concerns to my parents, they gave some of the best advice, that “no matter what you do, there'll never be the perfect time”. Which I thought was really interesting, because though it is important to be in a good position financially and mentally no matter how good it is or how much you prepare yourself there’ll never be a perfect time, because when you have a child no matter what it is going to be hard. But as long as you try your best and have faith in yourself your children will love you even if you can’t give them everything from toys and electronics, as long as you have faith everything happens for a reason.

Through recent years less and less children are being brought into this world. Some of these trends include society’s pressure on women to lose their femininity, and fear of failing. Displaying that the idea of bringing children into this hard world isn’t easy as long as you do your best it all works out and to remember that everyone has a different journey for themselves and their family. 


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