During a segment on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" on Friday, senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel sparked debate by suggesting that the United States' declining fertility rate is partly due to fewer teenagers having children, characterising the drop in births among those aged 15 to 19 as a "problem." The discussion, anchored by Dana Perino, centred on new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealing the US fertility rate has fallen to a historic low.
CDC Data Shows Fertility Rate Decline
The National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the CDC, reported on Thursday that the fertility rate decreased by 7 percent in 2025, dropping from 53.8 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2024 to 53.1 in the most recent year. While Perino noted the long-term trend was not unexpected, she described the latest figures as potentially "a little shocking." Siegel responded, "Absolutely. We still have 3.6 million births a year. But the problem is teens and young adults from ages 15 to 19, the fertility rate is down 7 percent, and it's down 70 percent over the last two decades."
Teen Birth Trends Over Decades
Teen pregnancy in the US peaked in the late 1950s, around 1957, when the birth rate for girls aged 15 to 19 reached 96.3 per 1,000, largely influenced by post-World War II social norms that favoured early marriage and childbearing. Since then, the rate has declined sharply, with a brief uptick in the late 1980s and a peak around 1991 before resuming its downward trajectory. Evidence from a 2024 CDC report indicates this decline is driven by fewer teens being sexually active and increased use of birth control among those who are.
Age of consent laws vary by state, typically ranging from 16 to 18 years old, with some states including close-in-age exceptions for underage teens. Siegel emphasised that the overall fertility rate decline extends beyond teenagers, noting, "Dana, people are having kids in their 30s now, not their 20s. And again, that's leading to one thing I want to point out. The replacement rate is down to 1.56, meaning every couple is having, on average, 1.56 children in the United States. We need two or above to keep the population at the same amount."
Rising Costs of Raising Children
Raising a child in the US has become increasingly unaffordable, with costs escalating for essentials like childcare, food, and daily needs amid a broader affordability crisis affecting many families. A new estimate from LendingTree places the total cost of raising a child through age 18 at $303,418 in 2026, averaging approximately $16,857 per year. This marks the first time the figure has exceeded $300,000 since the company began tracking it in 2023, reflecting a roughly 2 percent increase from the previous year.
Siegel attributed the trend to societal shifts, stating, "We're telling people that are young not to have babies, to wait until they're in a more stable life situation, until they're more financially secure. Maybe they haven't found the right partner." The Independent has contacted Fox News representatives for comment on the segment.
