Fertility Rates In Wealthy Countries Rising After 30-Year Decline

Main Category: Fertility
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 07 Aug 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Fertility rates are on the rise in wealthy countries after a nearly 30-year slump in childbearing numbers, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature, Bloomberg/Boston Globe reports. The study -- by Hans-Peter Kohler, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Population Studies Center -- found that growing economic development led to the dip in fertility rates from 1975 to 2005 before they began to rise in countries where development had reached the highest levels.

In the U.S., the fertility rate increased to 2.05 in 2005, compared with 1.74 in 1976. The study also suggests that a combination of other factors might have contributed to the decline, such as the growing availability of birth control and higher costs related to childrearing. Kohler said that although the decline started before the advent of readily available contraception, birth control likely contributed to the decline. In addition, more women were opting to enter the work force, and people were spending more time pursuing their education, Kohler said.

Kohler said that excluding immigration, decreasing fertility rates can lead to a smaller work force. This potentially leaves countries to shoulder the expenses of maintaining infrastructure, leading to national economic declines. Kohler said, "This challenges the notion that as we become more developed, fertility only falls downward, which would produce rapid population aging." He noted, "In advanced societies, children are very desired and couples are willing to sacrifice to have them" (Lopatto, Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 8/6).

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