Fertility Rises Again

The baby bust in the U.S. is over, according to a report released from Demographic Intelligence, the nation's premier provider of birth forecasts.In the wake of the Great Recession, the total fertility rate (TFR) and the number of births in the United States fell more than 7 percent from 2007 to 2010. Now, the TFR and the number of births in the United States are rising, according to the January edition of The U.S. Fertility Forecast from Demographic Intelligence (DI). The report projects that the TFR will rise from 1.93 children per woman in 2010 to 1.98 children per woman in 2012, and that the United States will register more than 4 million births this year.

According to Demographic Intelligence (DI) analyses, approximately 1.08 million babies were postponed or foregone from 2008 to 2011. Parents considering a second, third, or fourth child have been particularly likely to avoid having a child since the recession began in December of 2007. "Childbearing is partly an economic decision and clearly many couples felt like they could not afford an additional child," said Samuel Sturgeon, director of research at Demographic Intelligence.Nevertheless, the report indicates that births are now rising for at least three reasons: the number of American women in their prime childbearing years is rising, many families do not want to postpone a birth any longer, and pronatalism remains high in the United States.