The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated

The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated

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  • Episode
      1655
  • Published
      Jul 8, 2025
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Episode
1655 of 1776
Duration
12min
Language
English
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Category
Non-fiction

The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.

It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.

In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it.

The thing is, beneath that demographic data point are millions of families making intimate decisions about kids. NPR's Sarah McCammon and Brian Mann dug into the politics and personal stories behind America's shrinking birthrate.

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