‘Fertility’ is one of those misleading terms that sounds like it means one thing (capability) when it really means another (output).

TL;DR: People aren’t unable to have more children; they’re just choosing not to.

I have an unrelated question, please. I am trying to make a post and get this error: "Sorry, your account isn't able to submit this site." Do you know why or have a solution for it?

Last night over dinner my companion reiterated why so many are opting out of breeding these days... The cost! Children are actually priceless so if they require budget tightening, they're still the better deal. And in the case of a true lack of funds, hey, the more children the bigger the SNAP and other public assistance payments are.

> What if they also desire spouses with careers, so that all of the pressure of supporting the family in an uncertain labor market doesn’t fall solely on them?

Good, they almost got one of the big reasons no one has said "quiet out loud" yet: security. Can't have confidence to have kids in an uncertain world.

Also, a kid kind of eats up that second income needed to hedge against uncertainty, so why push for one?

This is also a good summary:

> Years of reporting on the issue have shown me it’s some mixture of more education, which delays fertility, more widespread global uptake of contraception over time, and the fact that it’s more socially acceptable to be childless, so fewer people are pressured into compulsory parenthood.