Britain’s fertility crisis was laid bare yesterday as stark figures revealed birth rates across the country were at their lowest since records began — with numerous factors blamed for the decline, from women wanting to pursue careers to not being able to afford homes and childcare.
For a population to sustain itself, the total fertility rate — the number of babies each woman has in her lifetime — must exceed two.
But last year, England and Wales recorded an average of 1.44 children per women of childbearing age.
Now, some experts are claiming the problem is being fueled by men who are unable to commit to traditional family life.
In her 2023 book, Marcia Inhorn, a medical anthropologist at Yale University, coined the term 'mating gap’ to describe how it’s men rather than women who are to blame for the unstoppable decline in the overall population — with economic crisis predicted if it continues.
Her research for Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs found a pattern of women wanting families but were either single or in very unstable relationships with men who were unwilling to commit.
Indeed, growing numbers of young women are now being driven to freezing their eggs, with the procedure seen as a 'back-up plan’ given 'they have not yet met Mr Right’.
Earlier this year, ex-Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison revealed she underwent egg freezing last year, because asking now-husband Ercan Ramadan 'to be a dad when he really wasn’t ready’ would be 'pretty unfair and irresponsible’.
Earlier this year, Vicky Pattison revealed she underwent egg freezing, as asking now-husband Ercan Ramadan 'to be a dad when he really wasn’t ready’ would be 'irresponsible’
At the time, Vicky — who shared the process with her 5.5million Instagram followers — was 35 and engaged to Mr Ramadan who was 29.
She told The Times: 'I was aware that post-35 the health of my eggs and the viability of them seriously deteriorated.
’But he [Ramadan] is six years younger than me, and men mature later than women.
’He’s in his twenties, bless him, so asking him to be a dad when he really wasn’t ready — I felt that was pretty unfair and irresponsible.’
In a 30-minute BBC documentary 'Egg Freezing and Me’, referring to the rise in women making the same choice she also admitted: ’I do think some people are influenced by celebrity culture [and the trend for high profile women to choose egg freezing].
’However, I do think the huge rise in egg freezing can be attributed to something entirely different. Times are just changing.
’My decision might not be for everyone but I’m not asking it to be.’
Vicky is not the only one, however, facing this predicament.
In a 30-minute BBC documentary 'Egg Freezing and Me’, she also admitted : 'My decision might not be for everyone but I’m not asking it to be.’ Pictured, Vicky last year after her egg retrieval in London
Earlier this year, Made in Chelsea alumna Sophie Hermann, 36, revealed she had frozen her eggs to give herself 'more options’
And in June, 34-year-old Beyond Chelsea star Rosie Fortescue, who is also single, admitted she froze her eggs last year
Earlier this year, Made in Chelsea alumna Sophie Hermann, 36, revealed she had frozen her eggs to give herself 'more options’.
It came after telling MailOnline she had contemplated the idea for four years and was ultimately 'waiting for Mr. Right to come along’.
And in June, 34-year-old Beyond Chelsea star Rosie Fortescue, who is also single, admitted she froze her eggs last year.
But the trend is not limited to celebs, with social media users taking to platforms to share their own egg freezing 'journeys’.
In one TikTok video, Jessa Choi who goes by the username @sugarplumgoth and boasts 65,000 followers, also said: 'I don’t know if it’s because I’m dramatic or because it’s Aries season and I’m an Aries rising.
’But I have decided to freeze my eggs.
’It’s not looking great out there. I don’t want to settle. I want to raise my bar even higher.
The 28-year-old from New York added: 'I’m still in my twenties but I wanted to do it while I had the chance. And it’s been a crazy process.’
In one TikTok video, @sugarplumgoth, who boasts 65,000 followers, said: 'It’s not looking great out there. I don’t want to settle. I want to raise my bar even higher’
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also suggest the average age of parents has hit a record high — 30.9 for women and 33.7 for men.
It marks a rise of almost a fifth among women and sixth among men, since the early 60s, when records began.
In her book, Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs, Marcia Inhorn, a medical anthropologist at Yale University, also concluded that it was men, not women, who were the problem.
She conducted interviews with 150 American women who had frozen their eggs.
Most were heterosexual women who wanted a partner they could have and raise children with.
But contrary to the commonly held notion that most professional women were freezing their eggs for their careers, there was what she dubbed a 'mating gap’.
’Egg freezing was not about their careers. It was about being single or in very unstable relationships with men who were unwilling to commit to them,’ she said.
Latest figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) show there were more than 4,600 egg storage cycles in 2022, almost double the 2,500 in 2019.
Egg freezing involves following the first steps of IVF , which takes two to three weeks to complete. Women take drugs to boost their egg production and help them mature. Eggs are then collected under general anaesthetic, mixed with a freezing solution and frozen
The process is deemed 'mostly very safe’ by the HFEA. Some women, however, do experience side effects from their fertility drugs.
The process is also financially restrictive. The average cost of an egg freezing package in the UK stands around £4,000.
Storage costs are also extra and vary between clinics. On average this falls between £15 and £350 annually.
The combined freezing and thawing process can cost up to an eye-watering £8,000 in total.
Critics of the egg freezing industry have also warned clinics are 'preying’ on women’s anxieties to sell them a treatment they may not need and may be unlikely to work.
According to the stark figures released by the ONS yesterday, the City of London had the lowest fertility rate at an average 0.55 babies per woman.
Cambridge recorded the second lowest fertility rate of 0.91, followed by Brighton and Hove at 0.98 babies per woman.
The collapse of fertility rate is part of a wider trend that has been observed since 2010, and more broadly since the 60s.
Currently, the fertility treatment has a success rate of up to 40 per cent. Around a third of IVF cycles among under-35s resulted in a live birth in 2019 in the UK. Yet this dropped to just 4 per cent in over-44s
Birth rates among women in their early 20s have fallen almost 80 per cent since the 60s, from 182 births per 1,000 women to just 38.6 births per 1,000 women today.
Put another way, only a fifth of British women will have had a child by the age of 25 today, the lowest proportion ever.
Experts also blamed the drop on lifestyle factors like the rising prevalence of obesity in many countries, which is thought to be having a downward impact on fertility.
Rising cost-of-living pressures, especially the price of childcare and housing, is another factor that puts a dampener on couples having children or deciding to have more than one, and can bring the total fertility rate down as a result.
Last year, TV host Victoria Coren Mitchell revealed she had given birth to daughter June Violet at the age of 51 after keeping her pregnancy a secret.
Her delivery followed that of supermodel Naomi Campbell, 54, who welcomed her second child in June 2023 and told fans 'it’s never too late’ to become a mother.
But at the time fertility specialists told MailOnline they feared such success stories could convince women they can naturally conceive later in life or that fertility treatment is easy.
For most women aged over 45, the odds of becoming pregnant naturally stand at around 1 per cent.
Last year, TV host Victoria Coren Mitchell revealed she had given birth to daughter June Violet at the age of 51 after keeping her pregnancy a secret
The threat of underpopulation has also been a pet topic of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, who has preached about it for years. In 2017, he said that the number of people on Earth is 'accelerating towards collapse but few seem to notice or care’
Dr Ippokratis Sarris, a consultant in reproductive medicine and the director of King’s Fertility in London, told MailOnline: 'A lot of people also don’t realize how things change with age, or they think because they’re older, fertility treatment can help them.
’Actually, fertility treatment does not overcome ageing per se.’
Others experts have also cited the environment as a reason behind the dip fertility rate, with people fearing that they will worsen their carbon footprint by having a child or that their child will have a bleak future due to climate change.
In the UK, ex-Tory MP Miriam Cates has long led calls for pro-natal policies to improve the birthrate, including tax breaks for stay-at-home mothers.
In a speech at National Conservatism Conference last year, she told delegates: 'Fertility rates decline has not occurred in spite of the economic and social policies of the last thirty years.
’It is a direct result of how those policies have failed to value and reward the behaviours that lead to starting a family.’
She added: 'Having children is about as much of a „lifestyle choice” as eating — it is fundamental for survival.’
The threat of underpopulation has also been a pet topic of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, who has preached about it for years.
In 2017, he said that the number of people on Earth is 'accelerating towards collapse but few seem to notice or care’.
Then in 2021 Musk, who has 11 known children, warned that civilisation is 'going to crumble’ if people don’t have more children.
At Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s 'Atreju’ political festival in Rome last December, Musk also said: 'My advice to all government leaders and people is make sure you have children to create a new generation or the culture of Italy, Japan and France will disappear.’
