"Families in the U.S. and around the world are having fewer children as people make profoundly different decisions about their lives. NPR's series Population Shift: How Smaller Families Are Changing the World explores the causes and implications of this trend. At an indoor play center in Cheyenne, Wyo., a sea of toddlers throw around colorful blocks and balls. Grace Moreno, who is 21, is there with her 11-month-old son, who is dressed in pajamas with little firetrucks on them. "It's the only free place, so it's worth it," she said."
"Finances are tight for Moreno and her husband. They moved to Wyoming from Texas, while pregnant, so her husband could work a higher-paying electrician job. But now that they are parents, paychecks seem to disappear. "Our rent in Texas was like $800," Moreno said. "Here, it's like $1,775." Rent is their biggest cost. They spend $300 a week on groceries and $100 on formula. The couple also have car payments, and they're paying bills for their son's delivery. "I remember sitting there looking at a stack of mail, probably like maybe 3 inches tall hospital bills, ER bills," Moreno recalled. "And I looked at my husband. I was like, 'I don't ever want to do this again.'""
Global fertility rates are falling as people make different life choices driven by economic pressures. A young mother in Cheyenne moved for higher pay but faces much higher rent, steep grocery and formula costs, car payments, and medical bills. She chose sterilization six weeks after giving birth to avoid repeating the financial strain. Limiting family size allows saving toward a mortgage and a home. High home prices combined with elevated mortgage rates further constrain family planning. State demographers report birth rates in some areas remain slightly above average but still below replacement levels.
Read at www.npr.org
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