The babies of Onslow County

Conservatives have always been more concerned than liberals about the health of American families. But as fertility sank again in 2024 to an all-time record low of 1.6 births per woman over a lifetime, even liberals have grown concerned that, as a nation, we are not meeting the 2.1 births needed to keep our population from shrinking.

The Washington Post‘s Youyou Zhou recently wrote an article titled, “The two reasons Americans aren’t having babies, according to data.” Long story short, she blames “a broad cultural shift away from traditional families and a lack of high-quality, affordable child care and housing.”