Peter Foreshaw Brookes disputes infertility as cause of falling global fertility rates
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Apr 29
Peter Foreshaw Brookes disputes infertility as cause of falling global fertility rates
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Apr 29
Brookes says fertility peaked across much of the western world around 2007-10, then declined, while US sperm counts recently rose and US time to pregnancy stayed broadly stable from 2002 to 2017.
He argues pollution-related damage, if present, does not explain recent fertility declines, citing stable or falling infertility in developed countries and only a roughly 4% rise in time to pregnancy for US mothers under 30.
His intervention challenges reports on a paper by Shanna Swan and others linking pollutants to reduced biological fertility, and instead points to economic pressures and smartphone-driven changes in coupling behaviour.
Are falling birth rates a sign of economic anxiety or a hidden biological crisis?
Did the smartphone kill the baby boom more effectively than any chemical?