More than half a century ago when it was common place for households at all socio-economic levels to include multiple children, Jamaica’s National Family Planning Board (JFPB)went on a huge campaign to reduce the birth rate.

Back then radio was king of mass media and ‘Two is better than too many’ quickly became among the more catchy public education messages going the rounds.

Jamaicans, more especially women, regardless of background, were encouraged to give themselves a real chance of economic independence and social progress by having fewer children.

Older Jamaicans with vivid memories of ‘Two is better than too many’ are now metaphorically scratching their heads because the world has moved on.

We now hear from Mr Reginald Budhan, a former permanent secretary, that the JFPB’s campaign of decades ago was “too effective”. Our reporter tells us that Mr Budhan wants a counter to that campaign “to undo it”.

The logic, we are told, is that Jamaica’s future viability and sustainability are at risk because of rapidly falling birth and high migration — the last being an aspect which dates back well in excess of a century.

Said Mr Budhan: “… The human resource of a country is its greatest asset. We had about 52,000 births last year and about 21,000 migrations and about 20,000 deaths… for us to be viable and sustainable and achieve a higher level of per capita income and standard of living we must maintain a higher birth rate…”

“If this continues Jamaica will never achieve its Vision 2030 goal…”

We also hear that Jamaica’s current replacement fertility rate is 1.9 which, for the first time, is below the recommended 2.1 — said to be needed to sustain population levels.

This problem of rapidly falling birth rate is not confined to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. It is a real and growing concern globally as women strive to advance themselves professionally, in business, as well as their overall quality of life.

The Gleaner newspaper reports lawyer and media personality Mrs Khadine Wilkinson, popularly known as Miss Kitty, as saying that many women are no longer going down what she describes as that “sufferation road…”

She says, “Women are choosing themselves more and first now…”

Beyond that, this newspaper believes it should be recognised that while many upper, middle income, and working class women are increasingly seeing themselves as far more than the bearer of our children, time has stood still for many others.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that in our impoverished inner-city and deep-rural communities there remains an intolerable high incidence of teenage pregnancy and women bearing multiple children for several partners.

Harsh socio-economic circumstances are much at fault.

To be fair to Mr Budhan, he tells us that women should “feel the security of having children with a partner who will not leave partway”.

The fact is that children in our poorest circumstances are often the ones who end up leaving school illiterate, unskilled, and easy recruits for criminal networks.

Even as we attempt the difficult task of correcting rapidly falling birth rates we must ensure that those at the socio-economic base are lifted up socially and economically.

And, under no circumstance, should there be any messaging suggesting that it’s okay for individuals to bring children into this world they cannot support.