Abstract
After decades of fertility postponement, we investigate recent changes in late parenthood across low‐fertility countries in the light of observations from the past. We use long series of age‐specific fertility rates from the Human Fertility Database (1950–2016) for women, and new data covering the period 1990–2016 for men. In 1950, the contribution of births at age 40 and over to female fertility rates ranged from 2.5 to 9 percent, but then fell sharply until the 1980s. From the 1990s, however, the prevalence of late first births increased rapidly, especially so in countries where it was initially lowest. This has produced a late fertility rebound in the last two decades, occurring much faster for women than for men. Comparisons between recent and past extremely late (age 48+) fertility levels confirm that people are now challenging the natural fertility barriers, particularly for a first child.
Highlights
Age at childbearing continues to rise across the low-fertility countries
Rising levels of fertility at less fertile ages go hand in hand with increasing number of unsuccessful attempts to have children at late ages: Research has drawn attention to the psychological distress experienced by men and women who do not succeed in having children they desire, a first child (McQuillan et al 2003; Wischmann and Thorn 2013)
NOTE: Trends for all countries are available in the Human Fertility Database and trends in contribution to second birth rates are provided in the online Supporting Information
Summary
Age at childbearing continues to rise across the low-fertility countries. In 2016, mean age at first birth was often reaching 28–30 years for women, with Italy having the highest at 31 years (Sobotka et al 2018). We compare the speed of diffusion of late first births across low-fertility countries since the onset of postponement and study whether the increase is still ongoing several decades later.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
