The World Is Having Fewer Babies, And So Am I (Maybe)

This article hits a little closer to home than I’d care to admit.

There’s a quiet hush sweeping across the globe, not the silence of peace, but the space left behind by lives that might have been.
It’s in empty playgrounds, shuttered maternity wards, and the echoing question that hangs in so many minds: should I have a child? And if not now…when?

For the first time in history, humanity is choosing not to grow. From Tokyo to Berlin, Seoul to New York, the numbers are dropping. People are waiting longer to have children, having fewer of them, or none at all.

Some are calling it a crisis, others, a correction. I’m calling it complicated, because it is.

I’m 34. I always thought I’d be a mom by now, but I also thought I’d be financially stable by now. Emotionally healed and secure.
And that version of me…she’s not here yet, so I’m still waiting.

The Global Fertility Shift: By the Numbers

This isn’t just my story, it’s everywhere I look lately (thank you algorithm).

According to the UN in 1950, the global fertility rate was 4.7 children per woman, in 2023, it was 2.3…less than half, and by 2050, it’s expected to fall below 2.1, the replacement level.

In wealthy countries, the decline is sharper, with South Korea: 0.78 children per woman (world’s lowest), Japan: 1.26, Italy: 1.2, and the United States: 1.66.

Even nations once booming with youth (like Brazil, India, and China) are now seeing some major fertility dips.

This isn’t temporary, it’s structural, psychological, and also economic.
And most of all, it’s deeply, achingly personal to me.

Why People Are Having Fewer Kids

The reasons aren’t mysterious, and if you’re alive today and didn’t inherit a trustfund, then you’re not unfamiliar with the reasons I’m about to go into.

Boom, let’s kick off with the big one: money. Housing is expensive, childcare is astronomical, wages have stagnated while costs have skyrocketed especially in the last few years. For many would-be parents, it’s not “I don’t want a baby,” it’s “I can’t afford one.”

I know that song. I’ve felt it deep in the marrow of my bones at night, staring at my bank account and wishing there’d be a math error and someone would add an extra 0 to the end. Wondering if wanting a child without wanting debt was too much to ask.

Another one worth mentioning is that in a world that values productivity over presence, having a baby can feel like falling behind. Especially for women. Especially for women like me who’ve worked so hard to build something for myself and my family.

Do I step away from the momentum I’ve fought for, or do I wait a little longer…and risk waiting too long?

More than ever, people are asking too, what kind of world would I be bringing a child into?
A warming planet, rising inequality, political instability so bad that people disown their own families for picking the other side.

It’s a grief-laced question, and while hope still exists, it’s harder to reach for when the headlines are screaming.

No to mention, people are marrying later…or not at all. Many women are choosing to raise children alone, or not at all. Our definitions of family are evolving, and with that comes both liberation and loneliness. I’m on my second marriage, and I am glad I didn’t have kids with my first husband.

Why Time Feels Faster As We Age

As our timelines stretch and expectations shift, it can feel like the years blur. This post explores why time seems to speed up, and how slowing down might help us make decisions from a place of clarity instead of panic.

Here’s what they don’t tell you when you wait, that your body starts whispering things before your mind is ready.
That you’ll feel joy when a friend gets pregnant…and grief, too. You look around in envy and joy for others, you see family photos of people who are younger than you take that jump and wonder why it worked out for them and not you.
That Google will become a late-night spiral of “fertility over 35” and “how to track ovulation naturally.”

That there’s a sadness in the maybe. In the limbo of waiting in the middle, not sure how things are going to play out.

Because waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing, it means choosing, carefully and intentionally.

Science Says It’s Not Too Late, But There’s Nuance

Yes, fertility declines with age. But not as fast as all those fearmongers claim who are trying to get you to freeze your eggs for $20,000 plus a monthly storage fee.

Most women under 35 have an 85% chance of conceiving within a year.
At 38, it’s closer to 60–65%. Egg quantity drops, but quality doesn’t plummet overnight.

There are also more tools than ever with hormone testing, egg freezing, IVF support, and fertility tracking.

This isn’t 1990, science is catching up with the reality we’re currently living in.

Wearable Fertility Tracker

For those of us walking the line between hope and hesitation, tech can help us stay in tune.

Tempdrop Smart Basal Body Thermometer
Wear it while you sleep to track your ovulation naturally, no daily temp checks required. Great for cycle awareness without pressure.

What This Decline Could Mean for the World

Fewer babies may sound like less chaos, but it comes with its own storms you might not have thought much about.

Countries with shrinking birth rates will face a worker shortage, and a rapidly aging population. This means fewer people to support social programs, care for the elderly, or drive economic growth. The good news is that with less babies than ever dying of illness, the ones that are born are surviving.

Nations with stable or growing populations may gain economic influence. Think: Nigeria, Egypt, India. Global balance is changing.

With fewer children, some families are pouring more time and resources into the ones they have. Others are redefining family altogether, through chosen families, adoption, or communal living.

The question is no longer “how many kids do you want?” it’s “what does legacy mean to you?”

The Emotional Landscape of Not Knowing

There’s a strange ache in the waiting room of motherhood.

It’s not regret (most of the time), it’s not resignation, it’s something else.
Like an open door you haven’t walked through yet, just sort of waiting my turn while everyone else goes through the door and I’m left behind wondering and aching a litte.

Some days I imagine a little girl with my eyes and his laugh.
Other days, I imagine a life where my legacy is built of words and gardens and the people I’ve poured into.

Both visions feel special to me, and I think making the most of whatever happens next is all I can really do at this point.

Hope in the Complexity

The birth rate decline isn’t about selfishness, or apathy, it’s more about change and some evolution.

We’re learning that parenthood is not the only way to create meaning out there. That families can look a hundred different ways, and that waiting isn’t always fear, it’s sometimes love. The love of wanting to give a child a life that’s safe, stable, and full.

And yes, some of us still hope to become mothers, even if we do it later. Even if we do it differently.

If you're 33 like me, or 36, or 42…
If you’re staring down the what-ifs, the maybe-laters, the one-day-soons…I see you.

You’re not late, you’re living, and you’re not alone in that waiting room.
And whether or not you become a parent in the biological sense, you are already giving life: to ideas, to relationships, to futures not yet even imagined.

The world is having fewer babies, but maybe that’s making space for something else, something only you can create.