Humans and reproduction

It is probably safe to assume from empirical evidence that natural humans should have a drive to reproduce. This natural urge to have children should be present in most, if not all, people. In modern society, there seems to be an increasing number of people who had lost the urge to reproduce. They could have directed their objects of desire elsewhere or they had plain lost the desire to have children. This could be due to economic pressures, such as an inability to provide the offspring with at least basic education and perhaps some measure of luxuries. It is also known to be present amongst the career-minded, who, though having the financial means to support children, are unwilling to do so due to work commitments. This phenomenon has led to an aging and perhaps even decreasing population in some developed countries.

Now, this could be an indication of an erosion of cultural and religious values. Christians believe that their deity had wanted the people to increase in number by reproduction, likewise with many other religions. Nobility had demanded heirs of their descendants. Traditionally, Asians had desired offspring to marry off or perhaps to help with the farm work. This carries on today as some culturally rooted parents pressure their children into having offspring. A lack of rooting in cultural and religious heritage could have led the modern generation to be desirous of remaining childless after marriage or even avoiding the commitment of marriage. It would seem that the pressures of living in the busy modern age alone are sufficient to override years of history.

The question at hand is, just how many people who actually had children had them of their own volition rather than as a result of social, cultural or parental pressures?