26. Cat Ladies Unite: Reasons for Declining Fertility Rates

It’s perfectly okay to decide not to have children.

But there seems to be an unnecessary sense of ridicule placed on women whose lives don’t replicate the white picket fence fantasy with a husband, a house, and a couple kids. Us cat ladies deserve for our decisions to be respected regardless of what other people deem to be the "right," way to do things.

Taking a look at the stats, there’s a trend of fertility rates going down in the US, so clearly this is a decision more and more people are making. Let’s dig into what aspects might contribute to the choice to be childless.

Pew Research Center Survey: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/07/25/the-experiences-of-u-s-adults-who-dont-have-children/

White House Article: https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2024/05/23/issue-brief-a-first-principles-look-at-historically-low-u-s-fertility-and-its-macroeconomic-implications/

Music: https://musopen.org
Goldberg Variations, BWV. 988 Variation 3. Canon on the unison