According to research, only a quarter of millennials who say they want to have children are actively trying to get pregnant.
The rising cost of housing and childcare expenses are among the top reasons why fewer and fewer young adults are trying to start a family.
The analysis from the UCL Center for Longitudinal Studies in London looked at more than 7,000 people aged 32.
Just over half of them have already become parents, while half of those without children said they definitely want to start a family in the future.
But only one in four of those who said they wanted to be parents or have more children said they were currently trying. More than a quarter of them said this was due to financial reasons.
Only a quarter of millennials who say they want to have children are actively trying to get pregnant (file image)
The analysis by the UCL Center for Longitudinal Studies in London examined more than 7,000 people aged 32 (file image)
Lead author Dr Alina Pelikh said the findings suggest that “many consider financial and work constraints to be important challenges and key reasons for postponing parenthood.”
Respondents could choose multiple reasons and the majority (46 percent) said that not feeling ready was the reason they had not tried to conceive yet. Just under a quarter (24 per cent) said it was due to not having a suitable partner and just over a fifth (22 per cent) said it was due to their or their partner’s work or study. Only 3 percent cited environmental concerns.
Women were more likely than men to report financial concerns and their own work or study as reasons for not currently trying to conceive.
The paper said: “These findings highlight the important role that finances and employment play in the decision about when to start trying to have (another) child.”
“The slightly higher prevalence of these concerns among women may reflect existing evidence that women’s careers often suffer setbacks in earnings and career progression after childbirth.”
Overall, about a quarter of the more than 7,000 respondents said they were unsure about having more children or becoming parents for the first time.
Women were more likely than men to report financial concerns and their own work or study as reasons for not currently trying to conceive (file image)
The paper said this could indicate “a smaller average family size and a higher proportion of childless people among this cohort compared to previous generations.”
Dr. Pelikh said the findings “highlight the challenges this generation faces as they weigh their plans to have children in their early 30s.”
He added: ‘While those without children may be navigating the complexities of finding a partner and establishing their careers before becoming parents, parents are grappling with the reality of balancing existing family and financial responsibilities with the prospect of having more children.
“While parents will naturally have many reasons for deciding the timing and spacing of their children, it is likely that current cost-of-living pressures, with rising housing and childcare expenses, are also shaping the environment in which this group is making fertility decisions.”
