>And they wonder why the birth rate is in the ditch. Stressed creatures in captivity do not reproduce. This seems reasonable, but I wonder why we are so much m

>And they wonder why the birth rate is in the ditch. Stressed creatures in captivity do not reproduce. This seems reasonable, but I wonder why we are so much more stressed in modern first world countries than in places and times where they have had "real" problems, like figuring out how to source potable water or how to not get shot or bombed in a war-torn country. It's usually the case that the harder it is to survive an environment, the more people seem to reproduce, and birth rates go down after most citizens' well-being is secured, which would seem to run counter to the idea that stress lowers birth rates.