The years-long U.S. baby drought worsened last year, with births dropping 4% from 2019 to the lowest level since 1979.
The provisional data for 2020, at 3.6 million births, marks the sixth annual drop in a row. The decline will likely continue in 2021, when the brunt of the impact from the pandemic will be recorded — with a nine-month delay.
Fears of contracting the virus while pregnant, or while in hospital to give birth, combined with job insecurity and government measures limiting social contact and business activity, dissuaded Americans from having babies, according to surveys by Ovia Health, a women’s health technology company.
Read more at NEWSMAX.
{Matzav.com}
Whatever the secular world does. Can’t fix stupid. What concerns me, though, is our community slowing down. We need to take away any hindrances:
1. The yeshivish 5 years shiduchim age gap which results in 10 to 15 % more girls than boys in the market, which means 10 to 15 % of yeshivish girls aren’t getting married, and consequently not having children. Let boys get married at the age of 18, just like chasidim. If anything, a reduction of eitzer hora will only make a better limud hatorah.
2. Reduce tuition expense. Obviously, it won’t be simple, but it has to be done. Make having kids affordable again.
3. Adjust community-wide spending patterns to enable women to work less and to spend more time at home. That means that everyone has to go with very simple life style including basic simchos, very simple cars, no fancy vacations, simple clothing, etc.
In 2021, after the shots, they expect a 97% decline. Isn’t depopulation the purpose of the shots?
1 – Sorry, 18 year olds, girls and especially boys, are NOT ready to get married in the non-chasidish world. I don’t know how really ready they are in the chasidish velt but I am not an expert on that oilam so I’ll leave it to them.
2 – Can’t really reduce tuition too much, unless you expect the staff to volunteer their time and kochos.
3 – Great idea, but it’ll take a tremendous amount of work. People accept as normal the things they’re used to, and tend to feel deprived when they don’t have it. This generation is weak in that area and we have to work on building ourselves and our societies up, in order to be okay with less.