Australia's birth rate is now well below replacement level

The nation's fertility rate - the number of children per woman - has dropped to 1.8, not enough to sustain our population through normal growth. The replacement level is 2.1 lifetime births per woman.

Conventional wisdom has it that the standard of living is the main driver of fertility decline.

"As a country becomes more industrialised and richer and healthier, birth rates begin to fall ... basically people invest in quality rather than quantity," the Mercator website asserts.

Being a Catholic website, it also contemplates the effects of declining religious commitment. That, of course, could be true.

One of the nicest families that I remember from my teaching career had nine children - and yes, they were Catholics. Despite the nine children, mother found time to conduct dancing and drama classes at her home. Was poverty the natural result of having too many kids? It certainly didn't appear to be so in their case.

Discussing aged care policy, Anthony Albanese said: "We must act now. The baby boomers are coming. Within a decade, our nation will have, for the first time in history, more people aged over 65 than under 18," according to The Guardian.

I hope he's looking for a solution to boost our birthrate, but it's a long-term problem in all First World countries. Even China (1.7) recognises that its birthrate isn't keeping pace with future needs.

Is there a more serious cause? A Sydney Morning Herald story just a week ago was headed "'Absolutely stunned': Sperm counts are falling faster than ever".

"Sperm counts have fallen 52 per cent in the past five decades - and the decline appears to be speeding up - experts at the 2023 Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand conference were told this week. Professor Roger Hart, lead clinician for the Western Australian public fertility service, is part of the world's oldest longitudinal study of development from pre-birth through to adulthood, the federally funded Raine Study."

The findings show that "just 14.4 per cent of boys born during the study - which began in 1989 with a cohort of almost 3000 women - had sperm counts that met the minimum standard". The studies have drawn a link between chemical exposure and men's infertility.

Associate Professor Tim Moss from the not-for-profit men's health organisation Healthy Male, urged caution.

He quotes an example where it took five years for the couple to learn that the man's sperm motility was the likely reason they had failed to conceive.

"He had wondered if it was his age, stress, or lifestyle to blame for his fertility issue," Associate Professor Moss said.

A 2022 SMH story was headed: "'I felt like a failure in life': When men realise they're infertile."

The 30-year-old was told that a sample he gave to an IVF clinic contained no sperm.

"There are no numbers of how many men undergo fertility treatment - or support their partner through it - each year, but one in six couples around the world struggle to get pregnant. In Australia, 40 per cent of IVF cases are the result of male infertility, 40 per cent of cases are the result of female infertility, and 20 per cent is unexplained," Samantha Selinger-Morris wrote.

"Now, we do IVF equally for male infertility and female infertility [reasons]," Dr Frank Quinn, a fertility specialist at IVF Australia, said.

There was much more, but the message was that these things need to be discussed with a medical professional, and sooner rather than later.

Failure to start a family can bring emotional stress if the couple is not gaining results. The message is clear: Seek medical advice early.

"One for mum, one for dad, and one for the country," former treasurer Peter Costello urged in 2002.

We started young - my wife and I produced four taxpayers.

The effort, expense and enjoyment made it all worthwhile.