An American from Highland Park, Michigan, has gained attention after a heartbreaking comment they made over a birthrate report in the US. A post on r/Productivitycafe questioned why the country is seeing a reported record low in the number of women having children. This post garnered thousands of views, but the individual’s singular comment amassed almost half its total upvotes, proving many others strongly felt the same.
The Reddit post was initially a thought-provoking question by marktwin11, accompanied by an infographic alleging that over half of the US’s women ages 20-29 are childless. In response, Reddit user HandOverFist112 boldly stated, “Can’t guarantee a child a good life if I can’t even have one myself.” After gaining over two thousand upvotes, they elaborated on why they felt this way.
The commenter explained how they grew up in extreme poverty and suffered child abuse in their younger years. “Bringing a child up purposely when me and my partner are struggling is weak parenting, and I refuse to repeat the cycle,” they wrote. This sentiment resonated with numerous others, and plenty of commenters expressed the same feelings in their responses.
Numerous Users Shared the Same Sentiment, With Some Claiming Not Having Children As ‘Protesting’
“We are not responsible for creating the servants for billionaires,” remarked an individual. Another person, claiming to be Native American, said that “The highest form of protest is not having children for the government needs the governed.” They added how they believe the population has been punished to no end by the societal system the government has in place. “The Epstein files are just exposing America for what it’s always been,” they expressed.
Other people shared their tragic stories of working hard, saving up money, and doing their best to stay out of debt. But in the end, tragedy struck, or their motivation gradually faded due to circumstance, leaving them hopeless to recover. “I can’t see a stable financial future for myself for a while after trying so hard, so I can’t picture what adding an expense like children in the mix,” wrote one commenter.
The birthrate hit an all-time low back in 2024, then again in 2025, according to CBS. This year, there’s plenty of speculation that things might not get much better, with outlets like ZME Science reporting that even some housing in the US has become a form of “Ultimate Birth Control.”
With statistics like these and the current state of the country over the past year or so, it’s not hard to see why this Michigan resident on Reddit and countless others feel such hopelessness about raising children.
