Only a quarter of the 32-year-olds in England who say they want more children or to become parents for the first time are actively trying to get pregnant, according to research which cites rising housing and childcare expenses as possible reasons why.
Just over half of the 7,200 millennials, born in 1989-90 and who have taken part in a major analysis by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, 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 offspring said they were currently trying, the research showed.
More than a quarter (28%) of the 2,045 people who said they either want children or want more children but were not currently trying to conceive said financial reasons were behind their decision-making.
Lead author Dr Alina Pelikh said the findings suggest that “financial and employment constraints are viewed by many as major challenges and key reasons for postponing parenthood” and listed cost-of-living pressures such as rising housing and childcare expenses as possible contributors.
Respondents could choose multiple reasons and most (46%) said not feeling ready was one, while just under a quarter (24%) said it was due to not having a suitable partner and just over a fifth (22%) said it was because of their or their partner’s work or study.
Just 3% cited environmental concerns.
Women were more likely to report financial concerns and their own work or study than men (45%, compared with 40%) as reasons for not currently trying to conceive, while more than twice as many men as women (11%, compared with 5%) reported that their partner’s work was the reason they were not currently trying.
The paper stated: “These findings highlight the significant role that finances and employment play in the decision on when to start trying for a(nother) child.
“The slightly higher prevalence of these concerns among women may reflect existing evidence that women’s careers often suffer setbacks in income and career progression after childbirth.”
Overall, around a quarter of the more than 7,000 respondents said they were not sure about having more children or becoming parents for the first time, a finding which researchers said could indicate likely smaller families and more people without children in future.
The paper stated: “Previous research has shown that a high proportion of individuals who have uncertain fertility intentions in their 20s and 30s, or postpone having children, end up not having children at all.
“Taken together, our findings suggest that we might expect to see a smaller average family size and a higher proportion of individuals without children among this cohort compared to older generations.”
Dr Pelikh said the findings “highlight the challenges this generation faces as they weigh up their childbearing plans in their early 30s”.
She added: “While those without children may be navigating the complexities of finding a partner and establishing their careers before parenthood, parents are grappling with the realities of balancing existing family and financial responsibilities with the prospect of having more children.
“While parents will naturally have many reasons for deciding on 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.”
