Jamaica’s declining birth rate is being shaped by modern societal pressures and social media, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said Thursday, urging citizens to consider having more children.
Speaking at Percy Junor Hospital’s baby-friendly accreditation ceremony in Spalding, Tufton noted that while technology and exposure bring positives, they also create pressures that influence family planning decisions.
“One of the challenges with families or parenting today is the pressures that have emerged from a society that has become more modern and exposed,” Tufton said. “Positives out of modernisation, positives in exposure, positives in technology, but it adds significant pressure on many of us who feel that unless we reach a particular height and achievement and wealth we can’t have children. It is a serious thing.”
He highlighted social media as a “double-edged sword,” where unrealistic portrayals of life, combined with misinformation, can discourage people from making the commitment required for parenthood.
Tufton also urged healthcare workers to engage directly with communities to promote responsible parenting. “We must leverage the credibility that we represent by spending more time in the community talking to people to encourage families to encourage responsible parenting,” he said.
The Minister drew attention to a stark decline in births at Percy Junor Hospital, which dropped from 201 deliveries in 2024 to 71 in 2025, a 64 per cent reduction. He acknowledged the trend reflects a wider global phenomenon affecting Jamaica.
Last year, the United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population report listed Jamaica among countries with some of the lowest fertility rates, with the total fertility rate falling to 1.3 children per woman — far below the replacement rate of 2.1.
“The decision is actively so for people to have fewer children. Every time I walk, because I talk about it so much, people say, ‘Bwoy, yu a promote children, you can afford them?’ and that is not the conversation I want to have,” Tufton said. “Our job is to promote responsible parenting, not just to have children for children’s sake…It doesn’t necessarily have to cost too much either, depending on where you put your priorities and your emphasis.”
The Minister stressed that fostering informed and supported families is key to reversing the declining birth rate while ensuring children are raised responsibly and communities strengthened.
