The Real Fertility Crisis Isn’t What You Think
June 11, 2025
We’ve been sold a narrative of panic: collapsing birth rates, aging populations, ticking biological clocks. But the truth, as highlighted in a powerful piece by UNFPA, is far more human and far more hopeful.
The real fertility crisis isn’t a shortage of babies. It’s a shortage of agency.
Nearly one in four people globally have wanted to have children, but couldn’t. That is staggering. The reasons span from financial insecurity to infertility, poor access to care, chronic illness, and deep uncertainty about the state of the world.
We talk a lot about choice, but not enough about what enables it. True reproductive freedom isn’t just the right to avoid pregnancy. It’s the power to pursue parenthood, when and how it makes sense for your life.
If we want to build a future where people are empowered to create the families they dream of (or opt out without judgment), we need more than fear-based headlines. We need action:
✅ Access to affordable, inclusive fertility and reproductive health services
✅ Policies that support working parents without penalty
✅ Real workplace equity
✅ Legal frameworks that support LGBTQIA+ families, single parents, and older hopeful parents
✅ And above all: hope, that raising children is possible, safe, and supported
We’re not facing a fertility crisis. We’re facing a systemic failure to meet people where they are.
That’s why we must empower generalist providers: OBGYNs, PCPs, NPs, RNs, and PAs to serve as the front line of fertility care. 84% of patients are already seeking their guidance. Systemic problems need systemic answers.
Traci Keen
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-fertility-crisis-isnt-what-you-think-traci-keen-5flrf
