The scalpel has done its work and with a gentle tug our grandson slides into the world. Still tethered to his mother by a ropey umbilical cord, he's all limbs; long arms and spidery legs stretching awkwardly, finally freed from the confines of the womb.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

Login or signup to continue reading

Smears of blood and amniotic fluid are wiped away. Then he screws up his face like a resentful old man woken from a nap and unleashes that first indignant cry of new life.

The raw, bloody miracle of a Caesarean birth, captured live in high definition, is now proudly replayed on our smartphone screens for not so squeamish friends and family.

Ironic, then, that a device allowing us to gaze in wonder at our grandson's arrival might also be serving as a contraceptive to a generation of prospective parents, accelerating the world's plummeting fertility levels.

More than half the global population lives in countries with fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 babies per woman. While the decline has been evident for decades - in 1950 the global rate was almost five births per woman - what has most puzzled demographers is the speed and scope of the collapse.

There are many reasons - reliable contraception is easier to obtain, the number of educated women in the workforce has soared and the economic burden of raising children has never seemed heavier, with couples delaying having families because of careers and housing affordability.

But researchers are increasingly identifying 2007 - the year Apple released the first smartphone - as the moment Western fertility rates dramatically nosedived. Two new studies say the rise of the iPhone profoundly altered the way young people interact, rewiring the ancient rituals of human courtship.

One study, published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, blames the iPhone for almost half the decline in American fertility rates between 2007 and 2011. Researchers theorise that young people between the ages of 15 and 24 began socialising more on digital media and less in real life - reducing the likelihood of meeting in person, having sex and falling pregnant.

Another study out of the University of Cincinnati tracked teenage fertility rates by analysing global data from more than 120 countries. It found that when smartphones became........

© The Examiner