Recession Makes Women Less Willing to Have Babies

More and more women are postponing pregnancy or wanting fewer babies. The recession has hit at much more than people’s wallets. According to Dr. Laura Lindberg from the Guttmacher Institute, women, especially those struggling financially, are trying more than ever to avoid getting pregnant. And many of them can’t even afford to buy their contraceptives. Lindberg and her colleagues interviewed about 1,000 sexually active women aged between 18 and 39 years old with their annual income less than $75,000.

Almost half of those interviewed said that they want to postpone pregnancy or have fewer children because of their financial problems. 31 percent said they don’t want to have children at the moment, 28 percent want fewer children than previously planned, and 7 percent said they don’t want getting pregnant at all. About two thirds (64 percent) agreed with the statement that As long as the economic situation remains the way it is now, I can’t afford having a baby. The researchers also found that every fourth woman (or their partner) has lost jobs or health insurance over the past year. Besides, 52 percent said their financial situation got worse compared to what it was a year ago. Over half of the women are concerned if they could take a proper care of their baby.

These findings are raising concerns among scientists. Such changes in childbearing attitude and related behavioral changes can stay on after the recession is officially over. Men obviously share their partners’ attitude.

Earlier this year, doctors reported a surge in the number of vasectomies (male sterilization) since the economy stumbled.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/hamletnc.