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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released it’s annual statistics on births in England and Wales for 2018, detailed are the number of live births, stillbirths and the intensity of childbearing, measured by the total fertility rate.
Richard Kennedy, Medical Director, Birmingham & Solihull, Local Maternity System, and Immediate Past President of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, said:
“The figures released by ONS mirror the total fertility rates reported from other western nations and the far east. Globally total fertility rate falls have mirrored improvements in child health, increased reproductive choice for women and delayed child bearing. The wider societal implications are that the population pyramid for high income countries where the total fertility rate falls significantly below the replacement level show an increasingly aging population dependent on a shrinking productive population.
“The one figure that is encouraging is the fall in the stillbirth rate and is likely to be due to the improvements in maternity care that have occurred in the last 2-3 years.”
Prof Ying Cheong, Professor of Reproductive Medicine, University of Southampton, said:
“The decrease in fertility has been the general trend across many countries around the world. This is a combination of the preference for having children at an older age and perhaps many other complex social economics factor. Countries such as Japan have had one of the highest rate of children born from IVF for a while, is this the future UK is heading?”
Prof Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology, University of Sheffield, said:
“These are interesting data which show a further decline in the UK birth rate which is largely in keeping with what has been seen in most high income (post industrial) countries since the 1970s. This trend almost certainly reflects the individual decisions by women and their partners about whether or not to have children (and if so how many), and supports the idea that economy and education are the best contraceptive.
“But it is likely to leave the UK and other countries like us with some interesting economic and social challenges in the years to come, because there will simply be too few young people of working age to support the economy and a disproportionate number of elderly people who require healthcare and pensions to be paid for. This makes our current reluctance to fund infertility treatments such as IVF for those who want children but can’t, such a foolish and short-sighted decision by those in charge of healthcare budgets.”
Declared interests
Prof Ying Cheong: “No interests.”
Prof Allan Pacey: “Chairman of the advisory committee of the UK National External Quality Assurance Schemes in Andrology, Editor in Chief of Human Fertility and Trustee of the Progress Educational Trust (all unpaid). Also, recent work for the World Health Organisation, British Broadcasting Corporation, Purple Orchid Pharma (paid consultancy with all monies going to University of Sheffield). Co-applicant on a research grant from the Medical Research Council (ref: MR/M010473/1).”
None others received.