Why did the U.S. fertility rate fall to another historic low? On April 9, the National Center for Health Statistics reported a 2025 general fertility rate of 53.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44. That’s below the replacement level required for population stability. For the first time, birthrates for women in their late 30s surpassed those for women in their early 20s.
Some on the right blame “girlboss feminism,” their new favorite explanation for rising childlessness. Progressive idealization of “toxic career-first culture” has supposedly robbed young women of desire for motherhood and replaced it with professional ambition.