Critics say Trump's baby bonus proposal won't address the real problems parents face

President Donald Trump's administration has been exploring ways to increase the country’s birth rate, with the president himself saying he wouldn't mind being known as the "fertilization president."

President Donald Trump's administration has been exploring ways to increase the country’s birth rate, with the president himself saying he wouldn't mind being known as the "fertilization president."

But congressional Democrats and activists say Republicans have long overlooked the growing cost of having and raising children and ignore policy solutions that are readily available.

“If you want to encourage families to have children and be serious about it, then you would work to lower costs, build economic security for families,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, an 18-term Democrat from Connecticut and a leading proponent of a federal paid family leave program, told NBC News.

The fertility rate in the United States has declined overall since 2007, hitting a historic low in 2023 before plateauing the following year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But birth rates are declining globally, not just in the U.S.

The New York Times reported in April that some of the policy pitches being made to the Trump administration to encourage women to have more babies include giving mothers $5,000 in cash after they give birth and government-funded classes on menstrual cycles. And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a memo this year ordering the department to prioritize funding for communities that have higher birth and marriage rates.