this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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I'm going to need to see some numbers on that.
Contraceptives have reduced the number of children who weren't intended in the first place, which, let's be candid here, does not make for a good home environment in many cases.
Studies have shown a massive decline in birthrates since ~2007. This is a long time after the existence of contraceptives.
Studies showing such issues as "women are prioritizing their careers!" account for a tiny minority of the general public, while studies noting costs of raising children, childcare, the need for both parents to work to afford... Anything, even the costs of childbirth itself, the increasing limits of time off after childbirth (and limits of paid leave) account for a significant portion of the population.
Following the pill, there was a sharp drop for ~20 years, followed by increases throughout the 80s, small decreases in the 90s and early 2000s, and then a drastic drop beginning in 2008 (as in, after the great recession).
As far as I'm aware, and as far as I can see by any of the data, economics plays a greater role than the existence of reliable contraceptives.
Aside from it being a bit silly to try and perpetually make the numbers go up.
Edit: Somehow lost a whole sentence at the end of paragraph 4
Have some numbers: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Fertility-rates-in-selected-countries-1960-2020-Number-of-children-per-women_fig2_360016179
For reference, contraceptive pills were introduced in 1960 in the US. See also size of the boomer generation vs size of every subsequent generation, and the shape of the population pyramid (it's not a pyramid anymore) in most developed countries. The numbers picked up a litte in the 80s, but nowhere near to the level they were in the 50s.
Slight clarification there...
Oral contraceptives were approved by the FDA, but the first that went for fda approval as a contraceptive wasn't until a year later, 1961. It wasn't available in all states until 1965.
And most crucially, it was not available to unmarried women in all states until 1972.
Which all coincides with exactly what I said.
Again, precipitous drop after the great recession. How does that, at all, relate to the (then 50 yr old) existence of the birth control pill?