'It's not a nice world to bring children into': Births fall to the lowest level in 50 years

"It's just not a very nice world to bring people into, and why would I consciously do that when I can choose not to?"

Stacey Waring, 40, a nurse from Nottingham, says global uncertainty has made her think twice about starting a family.

She is one of an increasing number of people having either no or fewer children, contributing to a national and global picture of falling birth rates.

In 2025, births in England and Wales fell for the fourth year in a row to their lowest level in nearly half a century, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Waring suggests that bringing children up in the UK today is less appealing than it was for her parents' or grandparents' generations.

"If I think of the childhood that I had, I was one of the last generations to grow up playing outside without a mobile phone, and it's very different now," she adds.

But she says she feels lucky to live at a time when people have more choice about whether to start a family.

"If I'd had children, I'd have had to reduce my hours at work," she says.