Land of Plenty

Perhaps there was something in the air or water in 2010, because pregnant and recently-pregnant ladies are everywhere. I spent new year's eve with old friends in Pennsylvania. Nearly all of them were married, and of those, nearly all of their wives were pregnant. Another friend in Pennsylvania is pregnant. Many ladies at work, or the wives of coworkers are pregnant.

And then there's the fact that my lovely niece Emma was born just last week. What a gorgeous little girl. And, I know she's not even two weeks yet, but I swear she already looks intelligent and inquisitive like her uncle. Amazing.

The United States of America may have a slew of daunting problems: stagnant economy, lingering unemployment, crushing debt, overseas commitments etc. But one thing that we don't have to worry about is a low fertility rate.

It's true - our fertility rate is the envy of the developed world.

Low birth rates in Western Europe, Japan and the Former Soviet Union are expected to cause big problems ahead for those nations (as a young workforce will find it difficult to fund a disproportionally large elderly population).

Despite having dropped to an all time low for the US, our fertility rate is still awesome. Granted, a large part of our high birth rate can be attributed to our high teen pregnancy rate (39 births per 1,000 girls), but still - let's celebrate something going very well- a birth rate near replacement! USA! USA!

See: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149316.php
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=us&v=31
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/teen-pregnancy-us-_n_802854.html