The CDC recently delivered alarming news: U.S. birth rates have hit a "historic low." The 2023 general fertility rate dropped 3 percent to reach the lowest level ever recorded. America sits at just 1.62 children per woman - far below the 2.1 needed to maintain our population.
About half of women reach age 30 without children. Of those, roughly half will never become mothers - often not by choice, but because they waited too long.
And why? It’s that Americans have lost faith in the family, and many women don't know the fertility age window is real.
The Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
This demographic crisis is fundamentally a women's health and family crisis. Millions of American women are unknowingly sacrificing their fertility because our culture tells them motherhood will derail their success. As someone who served as US Special Representative for Global Women's Health and founded the Institute for Women's Health, I've seen how women's wellbeing can suffer when they lack crucial information about fertility health and timelines.
Research shows children in married, two-parent families outperform peers academically and behaviorally, while married couples build more wealth, live longer, and report higher happiness. Strong families create stronger communities - lower crime and better economics.
Yet American culture systematically undermines these partnerships. Women hear marriage and motherhood will destroy their dreams. Men are constantly bombarded with messages that they are inconsequential and burdensome, even. Americans delay marriage and children so long that sometimes biology makes the choice for them.
The Fertility Cliff
Female fertility begins declining significantly after 30 and falls off a cliff after 35. Many women spend their twenties focused on individual goals, struggle to find suitable partners amid cultural messaging that pits genders against each other, then discover biology doesn't accommodate delayed family formation.
What was supposed to be "just a few more years" becomes permanent for millions. Family lines that continued for generations simply end, not because people chose childlessness, but because they believed the lie that partnership and parenthood were obstacles to fulfillment rather than pathways to it.
This pattern extends globally. The African country of Mauritius is particularly striking. Its fertility rate plummeted from 6.03 in the 1950s to just 1.22 today, a decrease of nearly 80 percent. This puts it well into the "lowest-low fertility" category alongside countries like South Korea and Japan.
Hungary's Hopeful Solution
Hungary shows America exactly what's possible when governments prioritize strong families. Facing demographic collapse, Hungary launched comprehensive pro-family policies: zero income tax for families with four or more children, $35,000 in forgiven loans for newlyweds with each child, and subsidized homes and cars. But Hungary went beyond policies - they revolutionized how their society talks about families, exchanging parenthood from burden to blessing.
The results: Fertility rates surged 30 percent, marriages doubled, divorces fell 25 percent, and abortions nearly halved, transforming Hungary from the EU's lowest to among its highest fertility rates. Despite ongoing challenges, Hungary is hoping to join only three countries out of 47 that have ever rebounded from below-replacement fertility since 1950. Hungary's takeaway: when governments treat families as infrastructure, populations recover.
Part of the Answer
At IWH, the women’s health institute I have led since 2021, we fight both the demographic and cultural crises through education and policy.
It is essential to tackle the root causes…the toxic messaging that convinces women they have endless time and that no good partners exist. Working with governments and families to help women understand their fertility timeline through health frameworks and education, we strengthen communication around fertility realities and healthy relationships.
These efforts align with the Geneva Consensus Declaration's principle that "the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society." The tragedy isn't just low birth rates - it's involuntary childlessness from cultural lies. When society tells women they can "have it all" on any timeline, we're stealing their choices, not expanding them. The goal isn't pressuring early motherhood - it's ending the tragedy of uninformed choice.
Supporting families through truth-telling is pro-women policy. But we're only part of the solution - this crisis demands comprehensive action across society.
The Choice Before Us
This population collapse isn't just about numbers; it's about whether America survives as a thriving civilization. Strong families have always been the foundation of great nations.
We can choose differently. We can rebuild a culture that celebrates marriage, supports parents, recognizes that strong families make all achievement possible, and makes young people aware of the narrow window of fertility.
The question isn't whether we can reverse demographic decline—it's whether we'll choose to. But we must choose quickly. Biology doesn't wait for politics.
Valerie Huber is the founder and president of the Institute for Women’s Health. She previously served as the U.S. Special Representative for Global Women’s Health. Follow her on Twitter ValerieHuber20 and @IWH4women.