It's Been a Minute Many women don't want kids. And for good reason.
Mar 24, 2026
Sarah McCammon, a journalist studying demographic trends and policy, and Emma Gannon, author who writes about child-free life, discuss why many decide not to have children. They explore economic pressures, cultural stigma, changing parenting norms, class and political meanings of being child-free, and how policy and social expectations shape reproductive choices.
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Younger Generations Choosing Child Free Deliberately
- Millennials and Gen Z increasingly choose to be child free by deliberate choice rather than circumstance.
- Reasons include costs, time, effort and lack of desire, which make parenting a lower priority for many younger adults.
Low Fertility Raises Economic And Demographic Worries
- Falling U.S. fertility to about 1.6 children per woman threatens population stability and raises economic questions.
- Demographers warn fewer younger workers affects pensions, elder care, and growth-dependent economies.
Pronatalism Mixes Cultural Fears With Policy Concerns
- Pronatalist concerns vary from preserving family norms to racial and demographic anxieties like replacement theories.
- Some pronatalist groups frame declining births in cultural or religious terms rather than purely economic ones.
