"What studies show is that even extremely young babies can already understand something about what's going on in the minds of other people and can even to some extent take the perspective of other people, " says Alison Gopnik, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has conducted other research on empathy.

WSJ: Wise Beyond Their Years: What Babies Really Know

But leaving aside whether the decline in childbirth says something positive or negative about us, what I find interesting is how the case for more babies fails to distinguish itself from the case for more immigrants.

FORBES: The Case for Natalism is the Case for Immigration

Even now in the Information Age, too many mothers lack access to critical information about what to do during their pregnancy to maximize their health and the health of their babies.

WHITEHOUSE: Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog