Anecdotally, I've noticed that it has a lot to do with women having the sense of security and freedom to say they don't want children. About half of the women i

Anecdotally, I've noticed that it has a lot to do with women having the sense of security and freedom to say they don't want children. About half of the women in my friend group do not want children despite their husbands wanting them. It has life long physical side effects on women, pregnancy isn't very fun, giving birth can be traumatic and painful, and there are all too many societal expectations placed on the mom. Almost every parenting book I read seemed to be assuming only the mom would read the book. Networking with other parents seems to need to occur primarily through moms, breastfeeding is endlessly pushed and shifts a great deal of the work required early in the child's life onto the mother, possibly carrying over into habits that are maintained afterwards. People don't even talk about any of these things beforehand, but I'd honestly be surprised if most women would want children after learning about these things. This isn't to mention the fact that having children completely upends your time. Hobbies and free time are seldom available after children. This affects both parents, and it feels like people really don't want to give these things up these days. Really, short of parents constantly pushing you to have kids, there doesn't seem to be a lot of motivation to have kids.