The weight of parenting
It is still being studied what other factors impacted the birth rate in a context that still maintains inequalities for women that, in theory, could favor birth rates.
For example, in Mexico—one of the countries with the lowest labor participation of women in Latin America—only half of 19-year-old girls attend university and a good proportion of women marry at an early age, explains Pederzini.
Even, 18% get married before the age of 18 and in states like Guerrero, the percentage rises to 35%despite international recommendations to eradicate child marriage.
Other elements explain what is behind the drop in births. Economic restrictions, high housing costs, lack of public care services, job insecurity and unemployment are the main causes in Mexico for the population to decide not to have children or limit the number of babies.
According to the report The real fertility crisis, published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in June, Uncertainty due to the political and social situation and the impact of climate change also influences.
“I want to have children, but it becomes more difficult as time goes by. Buying a house or getting an affordable rental in my city is impossible. I would also not want to give birth to a child in times of war and on a planet that is deteriorating, if that means that the baby would suffer because of it,” says a 29-year-old Mexican woman interviewed by UNFPA.
🔸Amid growing fears of a “depopulation crisis,” new data shows that most people want to have children, but many face insurmountable difficulties.
📙 This morning we present the new State of World Population of @UNFPA #SWOP 👇 pic.twitter.com/kPgnCy18Xf
— UNFPA in Mexico (@UNFPAMexico) June 10, 2025
Since women are the ones who bear the burden of parenting and care, with adverse consequences for their professional development and with impacts on their economy, they decide not to be mothers or not to have more children, if they do not find a partner willing to share the work.
“Devoting yourself to parenting means that you have to stop participating in the labor market and having a salary and you cannot find partners who want to share these ideals of participating in raising children,” says the specialist.
This postulate was developed by Claudia Golding, Nobel Prize winner in Economics in 2023, explains the Ibero academic, who adds that this is why it is necessary to change public and labor policies. It proposes, for example, providing support to couples who want to have children, extending paternity leave, having access to care spaces and work flexibility.
“The ability of women to decide freely and responsibly the number of children they wish to have and the interval between births has positive consequences for their well-being and opportunities, as well as for their enjoyment of human rights,” adds doctor Plascencia.
