Many parents have given the possibility of having children a lot of thought before they actually enter into the process. They may have even have been thinking about it since they were little children.

Most boys and girls want to grow up to be mothers and fathers but in the United States, it seems as if those numbers are dropping. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, there were 2% fewer births happening in 2018 compared to 2017. The numbers were still 3.79 million births for that year but it’s the lowest it has been in 32 years.

The reason why women are not having as many babies as they were in previous years can be quite varied. Fewer teenagers seem to be getting pregnant and the data states that between the ages of 15 and 19, there were 7% fewer births than there were the previous year. There was even a decrease in the number of babies born to women under the age of 35, regardless of the age group.

One exception was noteworthy to the decrease in the birth rate. The group of women over the age of 35 actually gave birth to more children in 2018.

This may be because women tend to be going to college more and waiting a longer time to have children. They might be focusing on their career rather than starting a family.

Meghan Markle is an example of how this trend seems to be catching on. Her first child was recently born into the royal family and she is 37.

You might consider 3.79 million births in a single year to be on the high end but it isn’t even enough for the population to replace itself. If women continue to have fewer births, the United States population could eventually decrease.

There is no need to be alarmed over the situation. Trends come and go and this trend will likely not last for many years.