An alternate on Fox News raised eyebrows Friday after senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel recommended that a part of the United States’ declining fertility fee is tied to fewer teen births, characterizing the drop amongst folks ages 15 to 19 as a “problem.”
During a dialogue on “America’s Newsroom” with anchor Dana Perino about new CDC information exhibiting the U.S. fertility fee has fallen to a document low, senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel pointed to declining start charges amongst youthful Americans. The fertility fee fell 7 % in 2025, from 53.8 births per 1,000 ladies of childbearing age in 2024 to 53.1 in the newest yr, the National Center for Health Statistics, which is a part of the CDC, reported Thursday.
Perino mentioned that whereas the long-term pattern shouldn’t be sudden, she mentioned the most recent figures might nonetheless be “a little shocking.”
“Absolutely. We still have 3.6 million births a year,” Siegel replied. “But the problem is teens and young adults from ages 15 to 19, the fertility rate is down 7 percent, and it’s down 70 percent over the last two decades, meaning we’re telling people that are young not to have babies, to wait until they’re in a more stable life situation, until they’re more financially secure. Maybe they haven’t found the right partner.”
Teen being pregnant within the U.S. reached its peak within the late Fifties, round 1957, when the start fee for ladies ages 15 to 19 climbed to 96.3 per 1,000. That spike was largely tied to post-World War II social norms, when early marriage and early childbearing had been way more widespread.
Since then, the speed has declined sharply over the a long time, although it briefly rose within the late Eighties and peaked round 1991 earlier than persevering with its long-term downward pattern. The causes for the decline will not be fully clear, however proof suggests it’s largely pushed by fewer teenagers being sexually energetic, in addition to elevated use of contraception amongst those that are, in accordance with a 2024 CDC report.
Age of consent legal guidelines differ by state, usually starting from 16 to 18 years outdated, although some states embrace exceptions in instances the place underage teenagers are shut in age.
The total fertility fee decline within the U.S. extends past simply youngsters, Siegel famous.
“Dana, people are having kids in their 30s now, not their 20s,” he instructed the anchor. “And again, that’s leading to one thing I want to point out. The replacement rate is down to 1.56, meaning every couple is having, on average, 1.56 children in the United States. We need two or above to keep the population at the same amount.”
The Independent has contacted Fox News representatives for remark.
Raising a toddler within the U.S. has turn out to be more and more unaffordable, with prices including up for necessities like baby care, meals, and different each day wants amid the affordability disaster affecting many households.
A brand new estimate from LendingTree places the full value of elevating a toddler by age 18 at $303,418 in 2026, averaging about $16,857 per yr. This is the primary time the determine has surpassed $300,000 for the reason that firm started monitoring it in 2023, reflecting a roughly 2 % improve from the earlier yr, the corporate mentioned.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fox-news-teen-birth-rates-b2955862.html