No kidding! We need more babies. American fertility rates are declining at a record pace. A new Wall Street Journal report citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that fewer births mean less workers to drive the economy and fewer people paying into a tax base to finance benefits for the elderly.

“This is one of the first signs we’re seeing of a real tangible threat to the long term economy,” says Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke. The U.S. needs 2.1 children per woman to keep the population stable. In 2013, women were only averaging 1.86. Fewer babies and a declining population means less consumer spending. “You’re talking about a lot of disposable income. Diapers, anything related to a baby is just a money printing machine for the economy,” Macke says.

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So, why the decline? It could be a hangover from the recession that ended in 2009. Macke says, the Millennial generation is skeptical of the economy. “They came of age during the dotcom meltdown and then the housing meltdown. So they have reasons to distrust things like the stock market. Buying a house is just a ludicrous proposition right now.” Economic concerns combined with the costs associated with starting a family are influencing this generation to wait longer and have fewer children.

Another factor in the declining rates is the delicate balance of work and life that today’s women battle with. Women are heading into the workforce with career goals that may put their family planning on hold. Facebook (FB) and Apple (AAPL) made headlines earlier this year by offering to cover the cost of freezing eggs for their women employees. An incentive they hope will retain and boost the amount of women in their workforce.

If there is to be a mini baby boom it would be led by older, financially secure women. Women in their 30s saw their fertility rates rise while the country overall is having fewer kids.

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