The U.S. birth rate is at a 30-year low according a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)—and the range of reactions to this new data is what you would expect. People have been quick to speculate about the reasons behind the trend, but many of them miss an obvious point: people are not having as many children because America is one of the hardest places to raise a child.
Experts say that the recent report is worth noting because the number of births in 2017 declined 2 percent from the previous year, and the fertility rate is also at a record low (it fell by 3 percent). When you break it down by age group, you see young people getting pregnant less often: the birth rate for people in their teens and twenties is down, and it’s flat for women in their thirties. The rate actually went up for women who are 40 and up.
This report is an opportunity to reflect about whether our country has done its best to systemically prevent punishing people for having and raising children. Do we create a world that allows every adult to freely choose whether to become a parent? As a thirtysomething woman without kids, it is very clear to me that the answer is no.
Millennial women aren’t having fewer kids because we need more uninterrupted selfie time. We’re not having kids because the United States is a straight-up hostile place to raise kids, period. It’s not selfishness, but an understanding that child rearing is a huge commitment that should not be taken lightly.
Let’s just look at the different ways the United States basically encourages us to not have kids.
Our health care system is trash
Growing a new tiny human inside one’s body is no small feat; it’s going to take a toll on anyone’s body and access to medical care during pregnancy and childbirth is objectively a good thing for both the baby and parent. Unfortunately, our health care system leaves many people uninsured, which makes natal care extremely expensive. And many people who are insured often still rack up high out-of-pocket costs.
Pregnancy and childbirth are expensive and often leave new parents in dire financial straits.
We have social safety programs like Medicaid, which funds about one-half of all American childbirths. Unfortunately, compassion and cooperation have become partisan values, leaving it almost always under attack by Republicans. Trump’s latest budget wanted to cut Medicaid funding by $250 billion over 10 years.
Even if uninsured and underinsured parents somehow are able to swing paying for childbirth, they still have to worry about health care for their child. Children aren’t safe from Republican heartlessness—the administration has been working to cut the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Oh, and there’s that whole thing where America keeps failing to keep mothers alive during childbirth. Our maternal death rate is embarrassingly high for a developed nation, with black birthing parents dying at alarming rates.
you pretty much need to be rich to afford a kid
Kids cost a lot of money—something many of us millennials do not have. We graduated with more student loan debt; entered a crappy economy and will never recover; few employers pay fair wages; and housing costs are skyrocketing.
The United States is the only developed country that doesn’t offer paid parental leave—and a study shows that the few lucky Americans who get it from their employers tend to already make more money. A 2015 report says 1 in 4 mothers go back to work less than two weeks after giving birth, which is dangerous for both the parent and child. Unfortunately, most mothers don’t have a choice since child care is also expensive—and sometimes incredibly unsafe.
employers hate Mothers
Not only do workers not have paid leave, but employers hit mothers with a wage penalty—paying them less, passing them up for promotion, etc.—while men with children often get a pay boost. A report from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth found that mothers make 71 percent less than fathers, which impacts the 70 percent of American families that depend on a mother’s income.
American women are increasingly becoming the breadwinner for their households while gender pay discrimination remains a problem. And with the Trump administration in charge, it’s hard to have hope that there will be much federal support in countering it.
no one cares about violence against children once they’re born
American children are being neglected in this country. They face high levels of poverty, poor health, inadequate education, sexual assault, and gun violence. Then children of marginalized identities have the added burden of additional oppressions like racism, ableism, and transphobia, which has a marked effect on mental and physical health.
These are all issues that America easily has the resources to start fixing, but somehow one of our major political parties has gone from being about “family values” to making the creation of a family as miserable a process as possible.
Is it any wonder that many people are delaying having kids—if they have them at all? America needs to change its policies and values if we really want everyone who wants a child (and those who don’t) to be able to freely make that decision. Having a child shouldn’t throw someone into poverty. A parent shouldn’t have to worry about their kid dying from unsafe water or a school shooter. Until those common injustices become a thing of the past, America’s unique refusal to support parents and children will continue to reverberate through every layer our society.