Less and less men and women are becoming parents, a U.S. fertility study reveals. Birth rates in the United States are at their lowest level since 1920. A University of Southern California study released last month reported an unprecedented decline in California’s child population. The number, researchers admit, “will pose significant challenges for the state’s future prosperity.”

So just how big is the decline? The U.S. fertility rate is 1.9 children per woman. The rapid slowdown is worrisome in large part due to the growing gap between the working-age population and the elderly. The working-age fund the social programs that the elderly rely on, so if the rate continues to drop, those programs will no longer be available to the 78 million Baby Boomers who will eventually retire.

The rates of births and retirees are headed off in vastly different directions: while the retirees continue to grow, babies are not born as frequently. Demographer Dowell Myers, director of the Population Dynamics Research Group at the University of Southern California says, “We will be increasingly dependent economically and socially on a smaller number of children.”

And though having a child for the sole purpose of funding our social and economical programs is not a viable option for many, what else is there to do to aid the issue?

Myers predicts that, “If fertility rates continue at their current pace,” we can look forward to,”a dropoff in taxpayers, more people selling homes, fewer people buying homes.”

So what will happen when the Baby Boomers retire? “At the end of the decade, when Baby Boomer retirement hits us really hard, at that point we’ll be begging for workers,” Myers warns. He also adds that, “one of the most important strategies is invest in the younger generation, the human capital. We can actually survive with fewer kids but we need to bring them along.”

Though, there is comfort knowing that the U.S. isn’t the only nation struggling to close the gap between the population. “Fertility rates across the entire world are all heading downward in ways that are somewhat mystifying. It’s a global trend,” says Jonathan Last, author of What to Expect When No One’s Expecting: America’s Coming Demographic Disaster.

While in the past the U.S. has recovered from low fertility rates (it was 1.7 children per woman due to inflation and more women in the workforce to bring money into the home), demographers don’t know whether the U.S. will bounce back along with the economy. There’s no clear cause of why people aren’t having as many children — and the American culture is not to blame. Says Sam Sturgeon, president of Demographic Intelligence (a company that forecasts quarterly birth rates),  “we haven’t been able to find a substantial difference in people’s attitudes toward childbearing. The two-child family is still kind of the ideal culturally … However, you can only delay so long and it will have an impact on the number of children we have.”

And to answer those who may offer that more children will only continue to hurt the environment, Last offers, ”Population growth leads to human innovation, and innovation leads to conservation … There are no cases of peace and prosperity in the face of declining populations.”

Are you noticing less and less children?

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Stop what you’re doing right this instant. As we speak, parents are receiving their Christmas gifts a few days early and we just had to share! How adorable are these newborns decked head to toe in holiday cheer?

Looks like the nurses at Middle Tennessee Medical Center got into the holiday spirit and dressed up the little bundles. So. Dang. Cute!

We’re wishing you and yours a happy, healthy holiday filled with love and laughter!

What special memories will you make together this year?

For our latest Instagram Challenge, we want to see your Halloween pictures — whether you’re dressing up baby or decorating your bump!

The best part? One lucky Bumpie will win four tickets to her local Bring Your Baby Matinees! This month, we’re showing the movie Fun Size on Tuesday, November 6th at AMC Theatres across the country. If you’re not familiar with our matinees, they’re a great way to spend a fun day out with other parents in a breastfeeding-friendly atmosphere, a theater with brighter lights and lower volume, stroller parking and crying babies allowed! (Find out if there is a participating theater near you here.) We’ll select a random winner from all of the entries and contact them on Instagram.

How it works:

From today until midnight EST on Thursday, November 1, upload your favorite Halloween photos on Instagram with the hashtag #TheBumpHalloween. Make sure you include both the hashtag and @thebump so we can see it. (Need some inspiration? Check out these adorable pictures of Bumpies’ best-ever Halloween costumes!)

We can’t wait to see your photos!

For the official rules, click here.

Here are the pictures that have been submitted so far!

Wondering why your photo isn’t appearing here? Your Instagram profile might be private. Instead, you can upload a photo directly from your computer with the green “Add Photos” button on the top of the page (and you don’t have to change your privacy settings). 

Plus, more from The Bump:

Wild Ways Moms-To-Be Decorated Their Bumps

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Happy National Read a Book Day! Want to grab something new to read to baby? The Bump staff picked some books we loved as kids and still love as adults. Pick up one of these!

What’s your favorite book from childhood? What do you read to baby?

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We’ve all been in this situation . The plane is about to take off and you spot (or rather, hear the screams of) a baby a few seats back. When you were just a passenger, you would roll your eyes and crank up the iPod. But what do you do when you become the parent of the screaming baby?

Apparently, all you need is a little candy.

On Monday, the parents of 14-week-old twins boarded a flight and passed out goody bags to their fellow passengers. In the bag, filled with all sorts of treats, the parents included the following message.

“Hello! We’re twin baby boys on our first flight, and we’re only 14 weeks old. We’ll try to be on our best behavior, but we’d like to apologize in advance just in case we lose our cool, get scared, or our ears hurt. Our Mom and Dad (AKA our portable milk machine and our diaper changer) have ear plugs available if you need them. We are all sitting in 20E and 20F if you want to come by a get a pair. Have a great flight!”

A Reddit user, who posted a photo of the goody bags , applauded the parents for their courtesy and dubbed them “brilliant and generous.” Some, however, were confused by the efforts. A fellow passenger felt it was a little much, commenting that the passengers are  ”all adults who can understand that babies are prone to bouts of crying.”

Although it seems the pre-apology wasn’t necessary, the user reported that, ”the parents were fantastic, and the kids were better than would be expected.”

What do you think of the pre-apology bags? Was this too much or a genius thing to do?

Plus more from The Bump:

Don’t Deny It: Your Vacation Revolved Around Your Baby

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Baby Travel Checklist

Bumpies, prepare yourself for some serious cuteness overload. Last week, we asked you to show us photos of baby with their furry BFFs. You sent tons of way-too-cute pictures (check out all of the submissions here!) and we compiled a slideshow of 30 favorites. Go ahead, just try to look at these without “awww”-ing.

Did you miss this photo challenge? We still want to see your pictures! Follow @thebump on Instagram and Twitter and share your photos with #BabiesAndPets.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Ridiculously Cute Baby Animals

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Is there anything cuter than the cutest thing in the world (a baby) with the second cutest thing in the world (a pet)? We didn’t think so. For this week’s Instagram challenge, we want to see pictures of your little ones with their furry friends! Everyone who participates in the challenge will be entered to win a bag of baby products, and we’ll also feature a few of the submissions in a slideshow here on The Bump.

How it works:

From today until midnight EST on Monday (8/27), upload your favorite baby & pet photo on Instagram with the hashtag #BabiesAndPets. Make sure you include both the hashtag and @thebump so we can see it. (Need some inspiration? Check out these way-too-adorable pictures of babies with their animal BFFs!)

We can’t wait to see your photos!

For the official rules, click here.

Here are the pictures that have been submitted so far!

Plus, more from The Bump:

Babies Wearing Funny Onesies

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Time for an Instagram challenge! As your family celebrates the Fourth of July this week (whether you’re at the beach, the pool, or a backyard BBQ) don’t forget to snap some pictures of your little one enjoying the great outdoors. Then, upload the photo to Instagram and include the hashtag #thebump in your caption so we can see it. We’ll round up some of our favorites for a slideshow here on TheBump.com next week!

To participate in the challenge, make sure you follow The Bump on Instagram (our username is @thebump). We can’t wait to see your summer babies!

Plus, more from The Bump:

9 Surprising Summer Dangers for Baby

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Next time you’re dealing with a leaky diaper situation, try these tips from the users on our Babies 6-9 Months message board for removing the stains from baby’s clothes.

Their #1 suggestion is an easy one: Sunshine!  “I wash the onesies and then throw them out in the sun. It’s the best stain remover!” says user sweetpea18.

Other miracle stain solutions?

“I use OxiClean powder for all stains. I recently bought a bottle of the spray, too, because sometimes it’s easier to spritz than rub, and I like it just as well. My son has never had a single stain set on any of his clothes!” –ss+el

“I use Resolve – you can get a big thing of it at Costco. I will spray it on and let it sit, and BAM! no more stain. I also toss a little OxiClean and Borax in the mix and my daughter’s clothes look great! You can’t even tell they were stained.” –Victoria6F

“I’ve been pretreating with Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap then washing in my usual detergent.  So far, it’s the only thing that has worked consistently for me!” –Jsthomas618

“I know this is going to sound odd, but my mom swears by and will not buy anything but Goop from the automotive section. It’s the best stuff she has ever found for anything. My dad is a mechanic and gets oil on his jeans, and it gets it out.” –momma4jax

Tell us, how do you remove tough stains from baby’s clothes?

Plus, more from The Bump:

How To Buy Baby Clothes

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