Massachusetts
Why Massachusetts women have fewer children and Trump’s $5,000 ‘baby bonus’ won’t help – The Boston Globe
Massachusetts has the lowest fertility rates among women in their 20s
A woman’s peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. Yet Massachusetts women in this age group are far less likely than the average twentysomething to have children. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2022, just 26.1 babies were born per 1,000 Massachusetts women aged 20 to 24 — less than half the national rate of 57.5. Among women 25 to 29, the rate is 60.2 births per 1,000 here versus 93.5 nationally.
For women in their thirties and forties, the pattern reverses. Those aged 30 to 34 and 35 to 39 have fertility rates that exceed the national average — “but they’re not high enough to make up for the lack of births among women in their 20s,” said Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire.
A key driver is education. According to America’s Health Rankings, nearly half (49.4 percent) of Massachusetts women aged 25 to 44 hold at least a bachelor’s degree — the highest share in the country. But experts warn that education itself doesn’t lower fertility.
“Education delays childbearing, and advancing maternal age is one of the strongest contributors to low fecundity,” said Lauren Wise, a Boston University epidemiologist, referring to a woman’s biological capacity to conceive children. “But when you hold age constant, women with higher education actually have higher fecundity.”
Higher education is often linked to higher incomes, which can bring advantages like better health care access, lower stress, and healthier lifestyles. Still, delayed childbearing often leads to fewer total children — especially given declining fecundity after age 35.
Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states in the country to raise a family
Infant care in Massachusetts averages over $26,000 a year — the highest in the country. For many, that cost is compounded over many years, as some towns still don’t offer full-day kindergarten, forcing working parents to pay for multiple years of care.
In some Massachusetts counties, families spend nearly 20 percent of their income on child care — nearly triple the 7 percent benchmark for affordability set by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“That’s huge,” said Dr. Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, a public health researcher at BU. “Parents have to pay for childcare generally near the beginning of their career, when they’re not at their top earning potential.”
Housing costs don’t help. In Greater Boston, the median home price surpassed $950,000 in 2024, placing it among the ranks of the country’s most expensive metros and prompting many younger adults to delay or reconsider having children.
“People can’t borrow against their future to pay for daycare,” Ettinger de Cuba said. “And housing and student debt are already stretching them thin. People are making deeply rational choices in a system that’s not set up to support families.”
Massachusetts residents are more likely to be white, wealthy, urban, liberal, and secular.
While none of these traits directly reduces fecundity, they are associated with cultural norms — like delayed childbearing and smaller desired family sizes — that help explain lower fertility rates.
“It’s not that being liberal or high-income causes lower fertility,” said Wise. “It’s that these traits are associated with family formation patterns where people tend to want fewer children.”
Economic and political instability also plays a role. “When the economy is not doing well — during recessions or wars — birth rates decline,” Wise said, pointing to a sharp drop during the Great Depression and a rebound during the post-WWII economic boom. “People wait. They don’t want to start or grow a family when their future feels uncertain.”
Not all groups feel these pressures equally. “We shouldn’t conflate not having children with not wanting them,” said Ettinger de Cuba. For many low-income and immigrant families, the decision not to grow a family reflects systemic constraints — like food insecurity, unaffordable childcare, and unstable housing — more than personal preference.
The $5,000 Question
In April, Trump proposed a $5,000 “baby bonus” for new mothers. Some experts were skeptical.
“That’s not going to move the needle,” Wise said flatly. “It costs about $233,000 to raise a child.” The figure, from a decade-old USDA estimate, has only grown with inflation.
“There’s so much more to it than receiving a medal,” added Ettinger de Cuba, referencing another Trump idea to honor women with six or more children with a “National Medal of Motherhood.”
If policymakers are serious about boosting fertility rates, she said, they’d be better off funding paid family leave, universal childcare, affordable housing, and health care.
Nathan Metcalf can be reached at nathan.metcalf@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @natpat_123.
The Farm Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives April 30 could undermine a Massachusetts law aimed at preventing animal cruelty.
The sweeping agricultural bill includes a section called the “Save Our Bacon Act,” which prohibits state and local governments from having farm animal welfare protections that extend to products originating in other states.
The measure specifically targets Massachusetts and California state laws that prohibit certain farm animals from being held in extreme confinement.
Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, released a statement opposing the inclusion of the measure in the Farm Bill.
“This is a highly controversial and poisonous policy that ignores the will of the people. These state laws were overwhelmingly supported by a popular vote — they shouldn’t be overridden because of big-dollar lobbying,” the senators said in their statement. “We have significant concerns about the House-passed Farm Bill, including this overreaching and harmful provision that should not be in the Farm Bill and needs to be removed.”
What is Massachusetts’s Question 3?
In 2016, Massachusetts voters passed Question 3, or an Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals, with 78% of the vote.
The measure banned the sale of eggs, veal or pork from animals that were “confined in a cruel manner.” It eliminated enclosures that prevented an animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending their limbs or turning around freely.
All of these products sold in Massachusetts must be compliant, regardless of whether the animals were raised on farms in or outside Massachusetts. Therefore, out-of-state farms must comply with Question 3 in order to sell their products in Massachusetts.
Town Line cares for 50 cows, reserving some each year for meat to sell at its farm store.
The law is similar to California’s Proposition 12, which also lays out specific freedom of movement and minimum floor space requirements for how veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens are kept. It also doesn’t allow the sale of any products from animals confined in ways that don’t meet their standards, including those produced in other states.
What is the Save Our Bacon Act?
The Save Our Bacon Act seeks to block California’s and Massachusetts’s laws on out-of-state producers by saying that no state “may enact or enforce, directly or indirectly, a condition or standard on the production of covered livestock other than for covered livestock physically raised in such State or subdivision.”
The legislation would apply to any domestic animal raised for the purpose of human consumption or milk production, but not animals raised primarily for egg production.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, originally introduced the Save Our Bacon Act in July 2025.
“California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 pose a major threat to family farms and food security — both in Iowa and across the country,” she said in a press release at the time. “The Save Our Bacon Act reaffirms livestock producers’ right to sell their products across state lines, without interference from arbitrary mandates.”
The act was added as a section in the Farm Bill, which was then passed by the House on a vote of 224-200. The bill next heads to the Senate, where its fate is unclear as lawmakers both across and within party lines have butted heads on several provisions.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Farm Bill provision threatens Massachusetts animal welfare rules
Fire broke out at an apartment building in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon, sending a column of smoke high into the air.
NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports the smoke was visible from miles away from the building on Juniper Road.
More details were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Life Care Center of Raynham has received a deficiency‑free inspection result from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a distinction awarded to a small share of the state’s licensed nursing homes, according to a community announcement.
The inspection was conducted as part of the state’s routine, unannounced nursing home survey process overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. These comprehensive, multi‑day inspections evaluate multiple aspects of facility operations, including staffing levels, quality of care, medication management, cleanliness, food service and resident rights.
State survey records show that Life Care Center of Raynham met required standards during its most recent standard survey, with no deficiencies cited, based on publicly available state data.
The announcement states that fewer than 8% of Massachusetts nursing homes achieve deficiency‑free survey results. That figure could not be independently verified through state or federal data and is attributed to the announcement.
In addition to the state survey outcome, the facility is listed as a five‑star provider for quality measures on the federal Medicare Care Compare website. The five‑star quality measure rating reflects above‑average performance compared with other nursing homes nationwide, according to federal rating methodology.
Officials said the inspection results reflect ongoing compliance with state and federal standards designed to protect resident health and safety. According to the announcement, the outcome is attributed to staff performance and internal quality practices.
This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
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