The U.S. birthrate and fertility rate continue to decline significantly, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2023, the number of births decreased by two percent to about 3.6 million, while the general fertility rate saw a three percent drop to 54.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44.
The data reveals that the 2o23 birth rate is even lower than that recorded in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sharpest decline in births occurred among women in their 20s. Conversely, women over 40 were the only demographic to experience an increase in births, albeit at a low rate of 12.6 percent.
These declining rates coincide with data showing that new mothers continue to get older — a trend linked to higher educational achievements, increased workforce participation, and delayed marriages. Moreover, cesarean deliveries represented nearly a third of all births in 2023, even becoming more prevalent in low-risk births.
The trend of declining birthrates in the U.S. mirrors similar patterns in other affluent nations worldwide, potentially due to factors like economic instability, ongoing pandemic uncertainties, rising healthcare costs, and the influence of radical, anti-family feminism. Extremist proponents of ‘overpopulation theory’ have praised declining birthrates in Western nations. Last year it was reported that not a single EU nation has “self-sustaining birthrates.”
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