Fertility intentions in the USA: unraveling gender and age dynamics through a cross-sectional lens

Reproductive intentions, or the desire to have children, have garnered significant academic focus in the U.S. Yet, there is a distinct deficiency of research exploring gender discrepancies in reproductive intentions across various age cohorts. Furthermore, the perspectives and involvement of males in fertility decision-making are often overlooked in contemporary research, which predominantly emphasizes women's intentions regarding childbearing. This study aims to fill the gap in the existing literature by utilizing data from the National Family Survey of Growth. Descriptive analysis indicated that 42.3% of women and 47.5% of men expressed an intention to have a child or additional child while most of both genders reported no intention. A binary logistic regression analysis was computed to compare the odds of women’s and men’s intention to have a child or additional) child. The unadjusted and adjusted regression results revealed a significantly decreasing intention to have a child or additional child with increasing age among both women and men, with the most decline observed in age groups 35–39, 40–44, and the steepest among 45–49 years for both genders. Even though the fertility intentions of the men have levels of significance similar to those of women, there is little evidence of a gender difference in this effect. We also found that men retained a higher likelihood of intending to have a child or additional child even into their late 40s compared to women. Nevertheless, the continuous decline in fertility intentions for both genders further challenges previous studies indicating that American women would continue to give birth to two children. This study suggests that couples' preferences toward having no children or fewer children may significantly influence fertility rates. Consequently, an aging population will rise, potentially affecting the labor, economy, and healthcare in various ways. Health policymakers should make conscious efforts to accommodate diverse life stages, take necessary steps to face challenges associated with aging, and uncover the factors that affect decreasing fertility intentions among men and women more rigorously.