After Great Recession, men had fewer kids, vasectomies

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. men had fewer children before getting vasectomies following the 2008 financial crisis and recession, researchers in Wisconsin said.

Dr. Anand Shridharani of the Department of Urology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and colleagues said men who asked for vasectomy in the years 2005-08 had on average 3.1 children, but after the recession hit, men asking for a vasectomy had 2.3 children.

In a report presented at the International Federation of Fertility Societies/American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting, the researchers said they "believed this information suggested a direct relation to the economic status of the community."

"There is much folklore associated with the relationship between economic conditions and reproduction. It is nice to have some actual data," Grace Centola, president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, said in a statement.