wild. you'd think as a capitalist country that wants to maximize workforce for cheap labor people would be more incentivized to procreate. yet you have insane costs to childbirth alone, no parental leave for either parent (or a pathetic amount on state level), no child support... and this on top.
To be honest, childcare is expensive. You can only have so many kids per worker, you need to pay rent for a big space, utilities, etc. In a big city it adds up fast. I'm sure some of it goes to some CEO's Yacht, but even at cost it would be expensive.
The reason it's free/cheap in Europe is because it's subsidized from taxes. Same as universities and Healthcare.