Los Angeles-born and Ivy League-educated, Peachy Keenan isn’t the typical picture of a pro-natalist.

Yet the married, mother of five is part of a growing movement of mostly Catholic, well-educated women in deep blue California inspired by Donald Trump’s calls to have more children.

“To save the country, we need to get out and push the babies out, and to do it in mass scale,” she said.

Ms Keenan, who gave up her job to raise her children, aged eight to 19, added: “When did raising your own baby become this political taboo?”

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump pledged to bring about a “baby boom” to tackle America’s ailing birth rate and has since proposed a slew of policies to encourage women to have more children, including paying them.

National fertility rates sat at 1.63 per cent last year, slightly higher than a record low set in 2023, but far below the rate needed for a generation to replace itself.

The fertility drive has been taken up with abandon by members of Mr Trump’s cabinet, with Sean Duffy, the transport secretary and a father of nine, suggesting grants be funnelled into communities with higher marriage and birth rates.