| The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), 1995, | | | | vasectomy – a medical procedure leading to |
| revealed that the number of women using infertility | | | | permanent sterilization, have doubled according to a |
| services in the U.S. was 9.3 million, and today if the | | | | Web MD article. This seems pretty extreme |
| forecast of some economists is to be believed, the | | | | considering the availability of many other |
| economic crisis could cause the U.S. birth rate to | | | | contraceptive methods such as the use of birth |
| decline. Aside from the usual infertility problems | | | | control pharma drugs. |
| treated with fertility drugs, the strained economy has | | | | - At the same time, some sociologists opine that |
| its own way of affecting fertility. Here are the hows | | | | recession could even lead to more births than less. |
| and whys? | | | | The reasoning is that job loss will present women |
| - According to a story in the LA Times, historical data | | | | with more time and an opportunity to have children |
| over the past 75 years suggests that the U.S. fertility | | | | and raise them. |
| rate has declined following economic recessions. Not | | | | - A rather different kind of a baby boom also seems |
| surprisingly, it was the worst after the Great | | | | to be occurring and that is of many women opting to |
| Depression. Though not as bad as the Great | | | | donate eggs to fertility clinics, to financially support |
| Depression, the recession this time is big enough to | | | | themselves, an MSNBC report suggests that. |
| be compared head on with its grandpa. | | | | While it will take a couple of months before the |
| - Further, as a consequence of economic hardships, | | | | actual effect on fertility rate can be assessed, it's |
| many couples might decide to either postpone or not | | | | seems unmistakable that state of the economy can |
| have children at all. And it already appears to be | | | | have some significant repercussions on human |
| happening, as reports from all across the country | | | | fertility. |
| suggest that the number of men wanting to undergo | | | | |