Childcare is more concerned about US than fertility rates, polls – National

The Trump administration is exploring ways to encourage Americans to have more babies and reverse U.S. fertility rates, but new polls may view this as a priority or as sharing White House concerns.

Instead, Americans are more likely to want the government to focus on improving the high costs of childcare and health outcomes for pregnant women, according to a study by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Childbirth, or promotion of childbirth, has gained traction as a move within the world of technology and some religious conservatives. Prominent figures on the right, like Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance, have supported the beliefs of birthers, claiming that more children are good for society.

The survey shows that only about three out of ten Americans who say lower birth rates are a “big problem” in the US say that encouraging families to have more children should be a “high priority” for the federal government.

Republicans also consider the affordable childcare and health outcomes for pregnant women to be a higher priority for government than promoting more births, indicating that even when conservatives are pushing for childbirth policies, they are not getting much support from GOP bases.

“It's not miserable in this era,” said President Donald Trump's supporter Misty Conklin of the decline in fertility.

Conklin, 50, lives in Indiana and believes the government should prioritize raising children more affordable, including supporting the needs of disabled granddaughters.

“It's difficult for kids to live as a couple, let alone,” Conklin said. “That's getting worse and worse.”

Childcare costs are a much greater concern.

Americans are being investigated as more concerned about the costs of raising and caring for children than the number of babies born.

About three-quarters of US adults say the cost of childcare is a “big problem.” This includes about 8 Democrats and women in 10, and about seven, including 10 Republicans and men.

Policies such as free or low-cost daycare for children who are too young to attend public school and cannot spend their family vacations are also popular with about two-thirds of Americans.

For Arizona Trump voter Maria Aperbe, the cost of childcare focused on her decision to quit her job to take care of her daughter when she was young. The 49-year-old said, “I was lucky enough to make it work at the time without inflation.”

Not many American adults are worried that there are too few children born.

Americans do not appear to have an opinion on the number of children their families should have.

Demographic forecasts show that the country's replacement rate is 2.1 children per woman, which prevents the population from shrinking over the long term.

However, the survey does not have a strong opinion as to whether the family has fewer than two children, or whether it is “almost good” or “almost good” of two or more people.

With one teenager, Aperbe financially thinks it makes sense to have a small family.

“I'm so happy to be able to give her everything I can, but if I had more kids I wouldn't have done it,” she said.

Few people say the federal government should be a “high priority” to encourage families to have more children.

Black adults, like women, could say this in particular. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States, lagging behind other wealthy countries in maternal health.

The idea of ​​birth is more registered with conservatives, but most don't think about it.

While polls have little thought on the issue, there are small indications that some birth policies are registered with Republicans, more conservative than Liberal Democrats.

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Republicans are likely to say that if their family has fewer children than two, and if a relatively small number of Republicans (about two in ten) hold this view, then it is highly likely that it will be “almost bad” for the future of the United States.

Socially conservative and financial liberal Dmitri Samsenko, 28, does not equate with either major political parties. California residents believe that lower US fertility rates are a major issue in determining whether a country will “continue to exist for the long term.”

Samusenko said she supports “using the government as a resource to enable families to grow and develop.”

Pronatalist advocates pitched the White House to their mothers about the idea of ​​a $5,000 “baby bonus” after a new baby was born. Trump says it “sounds like a good idea,” but about half of conservative Republicans are opposed to the $5,000 baby bonus, with about a quarter supporting it. Americans are divided all over the world. About a third agreed, about four out of ten opposed, and about three out of ten are neutral.

Many view the cost of infertility treatment as a major problem.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to become “fertilized president.” In February he signed an executive order to help expand access to in vitro fertilization.

Although IVF is popular among Americans, it has been controversial among some of Trump's religious bases, particularly Catholics and some evangelicals.

Approximately four in 10 adults in the US believe that “the cost of infertility treatment” is a major problem in the US. Almost half of US adults prefer to request that their insurers cover their fertility treatments “strong” or “somewhat”;

Bill Taylor, 72, of Washington, saw his adult daughter face health challenges and expensive fertility treatments to have a child. He is a strong supporter of the government that requires insurance companies to cover fertility treatments.

Democrat Taylor also said that lower birth rates are a problem but minor.

“Big families mean increasing the need for government health care and government social programs,” Taylor said. “Conservatives don't want to do that. They just want to raise their families.”

Associated Press' Religious Reporting will be supported through collaboration with the Associated Press and Conversation, along with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is responsible for this content only.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9 using samples drawn from NORC's probability-based Amerispeak panel designed to represent the US population. The margin of sampling errors across adults is either positive or negative 4 percentage points.