All over the world, cleverer people than me are trying to work out why birth rates are shrinking in almost every country.

Theories abound. High house prices, the cost of living, feminism, impossibly high parenting expectations, career aspirations, dwindling fertility rates – the list goes on.

But one factor I haven’t seen any PhD types talking about is the one I run into time and time again when I speak to child-free women who want children: men.

Specifically, men who theoretically do want children, but who “aren’t ready” despite being fully-fledged, taxpaying adults, often into their thirties or even older.

A perfect example of this phenomenon is Noel Fitzpatrick , TV’s Supervet , who gave an interview published over the weekend in which he spoke candidly about various facets

See Full Page