More U.S. Women Not Having Children

The number of women in the United States in their 30's and 40's not having children is rising, according to new information from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It seems that number is slowly but surely going up each year, and as of 2014, the percentage was 15.3% of women between the ages of 40 and 44 did not have children, up just a tiny bit from 2012, which was at 15.1% for the same age group.

For women just under 40, the late 30's group, the rise in not having kids is even greater. 18.5% of women between the ages of 35 and 39 for one reason or another, have not given birth.

When all of the age groups are together, the percentage comes out to 47.6% of women in the United States within the ages of 15 and 44, were without children last year.

There's a number of factors contributing to the lower birth rate in the U.S. Some women (and men too) just make the conscious decision to not have children. It's not the popular choice according to society, but it is still a choice. Another factor is work, some people have very demanding, time consuming careers and just can't see themselves juggling work and children together. Also, think about how expensive having a child or children is, and raising them until the age of 18, sometimes longer. Between the cost of diapers, food, childcare, college tuition, it adds up to some astronomical numbers, making money a huge factor. Yet another reason some forget to consider, is that some people very much want to have children and are struggling to get pregnant. Fertility treatments are expensive and they don't always work, so there are some people contributing to these percentages not at all by choice.

There could be a million more reasons out there why a couple does not have children, but after seeing these numbers rise like they are, one thing is for sure, many people are taking their time when it comes to making the biggest decision of their lives.