America might be witnessing peak motherhood
August 4, 2026
We have absorbed a familiar story about falling birth rates: People are having fewer children.
But averages can conceal profound differences. Imagine a country where women have, on average, two children. That could describe a society where most women become mothers and have two children, or one where half of women have four children and half have none. From the perspective of population size, these societies may look identical. But from the perspective of family life, social networks, and common life experiences, they are worlds apart.
