By B.N. Frank

Making headlines everywhere –

US fertility rate is below level needed to replace population, study says

The total fertility rate for the United States in 2017 continued to dip below what’s needed for the population to replace itself, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

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Previous research has shown that US birthrates appeared to hit a “record low” in 2017, when the number of births nationwide was at its lowest in three decades.

Based on data from the National Center for Heath Statistics released last year, about 3,853,472 babies were born nationally in 2017 — the lowest number of births in 30 years and down from a 2007 record high of 4,316,233.

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The total fertility rate for the United States has been on the decline for a while, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, who was not involved in the new report.

A New York Times poll in July found that young adults are choosing not to have kids because it’s so expensive.  According to the CDC, women are also choosing not to have children until they are older.

The Washington Post offers another theory:

Some have even wondered whether the decline might be influenced by sperm quality. Recent medical journal publications have indicated that exposure to pollutants might be harming reproductive health, including the motility and quantity of sperm, which could delay childbearing and overall fertility.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Hans-Peter Kohler, who studies fertility and birthrates, said the data indicated that many shifts affecting fertility are occurring “in the transition to adulthood.” The biggest recent drops in birthrate have been among teenagers as well as people in their 20s. In 2016, the teen birthrate hit at an all-time low after peaking in 1991.

Research has also determined that exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones and other sources of wireless WiFi radiation can also affect sperm quality, cause impotence, reduce fertility and even lower libido.

All of this technology may offer some benefits and conveniences but it doesn’t operate via magic.  Reducing your exposure to digital, electronic, and wireless devices, wearables, and infrastructure is always better for your health even if you don’t want to be a parent or a sexual dynamo.

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