Are MEN to blame for the UK fertility crisis? Women want children but are forced into freezing their eggs due to the 'mating gap' - where they can't find a partner to commit

Are MEN to blame for the UK fertility crisis? Women want children but are forced into freezing their eggs due to the 'mating gap' - where they can't find a partner to commit READ MORE: UK birth rates drop to all time low with some areas 'baby deserts' By Emily Stearn, Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 15:56 GMT, 29 October 2024 | Updated: 16:06 GMT, 29 October 2024 e-mail View comments Britain's fertility crisis was laid bare yesterday as stark figures revealed birth rates across the country were at their lowest since records began - with numerous factors blamed for the decline, from women wanting to pursue careers to not being able to afford homes and childcare. For a population to sustain itself, the total fertility rate — the number of babies each woman has in her lifetime — must exceed two, but last year, England and Wales recorded an average of 1.44 children per women of childbearing age.

Now, some experts are claiming the problem is being fueled by men who are unable to commit to traditional family life. In her 2023 book, Marcia Inhorn, a medical anthropologist at Yale University, coined the term 'mating gap' to describe how it's men rather than women who are to blame for the unstoppable decline in the overall population — with economic crisis predicted if it continues. Her research for Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs found a pattern of women wanting families but were either single or in very unstable relationships .