美國(guó)去年誕生的嬰兒數(shù)量是近三十年來最低，總共只有3,853,472人，同比下降2%。

這是美國(guó)連續(xù)第三年出生人數(shù)下滑，2017年每一千名15-44歲女性只誕生60.2人的生育率也創(chuàng)造了歷史新低。生育率唯一增長(zhǎng)的群體是那些40歲出頭的婦女，而青壯年的生育率暴跌7%，這也意味著比起2007年，如今青壯年的生育率已經(jīng)下滑了55%。

生育率整體下滑帶來的明顯問題就是美國(guó)人口的老齡化，更多的老齡人需要社會(huì)保障，而繳納社保的年輕人則變得更少。

另一件有趣的事情是生育率下滑和經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長(zhǎng)出現(xiàn)了不匹配的現(xiàn)象。原本，經(jīng)濟(jì)好轉(zhuǎn)往往會(huì)與生育高峰掛鉤。

根據(jù)美聯(lián)社的報(bào)道，專家認(rèn)為生育率下滑也許是因?yàn)榍ъ淮鷮?duì)母親身份的看法出現(xiàn)了轉(zhuǎn)變——本質(zhì)上，他們更傾向于推遲生育，不養(yǎng)那么多小孩——以及長(zhǎng)期避孕措施的使用增多所致。

針對(duì)30多歲的女性生育率出現(xiàn)輕微下滑的情況，賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)（University of Pennsylvania）的人口學(xué)家漢斯-彼得·科勒對(duì)美聯(lián)社表示：“目前很難說這標(biāo)志著根本性的變化還是僅僅一點(diǎn)波動(dòng)。”這種下滑表明之前的趨勢(shì)出現(xiàn)了扭轉(zhuǎn)。

這些最新的臨時(shí)數(shù)據(jù)來自美國(guó)疾病控制與防治中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）的全國(guó)健康狀況統(tǒng)計(jì)中心（National Center for Health Statistics）。

該中心的統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)家布雷迪·漢密爾頓對(duì)《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》表示，他“對(duì)青少年生育率的持續(xù)下降非常震驚”。這種下滑至少有部分原因在于避孕措施的使用率在青少年中有所增加。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正?

The U.S. last year saw its lowest number of births in three decades—a total of 3,853,472, which was down 2% from 2016.

This is the third annual decline in a row, and 2017 also saw a record low fertility rate of 60.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The only group to see birth rates rise was women in their early 40s—the birth rate for teenagers was down a whopping 7%, meaning the teen birthrate is now down 55% from 2007.

The obvious problem stemming from the overall decline is that America’s population is aging, which means more older people who may need a social safety net and fewer younger people to pay into the systems that provide it.

What’s also interesting is the mismatch between the declining birth rate and the economy, which is booming. Good economic times usually go hand-in-hand with baby booms.

According to an AP report, experts say the falling birth rate may be due to millennials’ changing attitudes about motherhood—essentially, they’re more inclined to put it off and have fewer kids—as well as increased use of long-term contraception techniques.

“It’s difficult to say yet whether it marks a fundamental change or it’s just a blip, University of Pennsylvania demographer Hans-Peter Kohler told the AP, in reference to the slight decline in birth rates for women in their 30s. That decline marked a reversal of the previous trend.

The new provisional figures come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

A statistician at the Center, Brady Hamilton, told The Wall Street Journal that he was “absolutely astounded at the continuing decline in teen birthrates.” That decline appears to be at least partly attributable to teens’ increased use of birth control.