by Stephen Shaw, The Critic
The real problem with fertility isn’t biology, but is the slow disappearance of the chance to become a parent
We don’t get to choose to become parents. We get to hope to become one.
And from the data that hope is far more fragile than we might like to admit. Yet we have built our lives around the assumption that becoming a parent remains largely within our control, right up to some mythical cliff around the age of 35. Therein lies the untruth at the heart of the debate around fertility which has been raging, prompted by pieces by Laura Perrins and Miriam Cates.
Earlier this year, the UN published a flagship report covering more than 70 nations, rich and poor alike. It found that among childless 35 to 39-year-olds, over 70 per cent of women still want children. For men it is even higher, at almost 80 per cent.
That follows a report titled The Real Fertility Crisis, published by the UN in 2025, again spanning richer and poorer nations. It concluded that millions of people are unable to have the number of children they want.
My own published research bears this out. Using official birth records from over 300 million mothers across the developed world, a narrower issue emerges within our societies. And one that shifts the focus away from mothers.