The number of babies born in England and Wales is now the lowest since the 1970s, official statistics show. The fertility rate – which measures how many children are born per woman during her child-bearing years – is the lowest on record at 1.44. Scotland’s is even lower at 1.3. Britain is not unique – most countries are experiencing declining fertility and some are even going to great lengths to create a baby boom.
There’s the high cost of bringing up children, the pressure to stay in work and the challenge of finding the right partner. But there’s also evidence that more and more young adults don’t plan on having any children at all.
The average age at which people in England and Wales become parents is the mid-30s. BBC News has spoken to two women and two men in their thirties to get their thoughts on the issue.
According to a recent report from the Child Poverty Action Group, the average cost of raising a child to age 18 was £166,000 for a couple and £220,000 for a lone parent. A report from the Centre for Policy Studies found that single-parent households are four times more likely to live in poverty than couple families with children.
This all raises the question of what the future holds if fewer children are being born. Declining fertility rates are not just about people delaying parenthood, but about a growing trend of people not having children, says Brienna Perelli-Harris, professor of demography at the University of Southampton.
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