Patterns of Childbearing in the U.S.

The patterns of childbearing in the United States have been changing in recent years along with the general demographic picture of the country, and the seasonality of childbearing throughout the life cycle has been shifting because of a number of forces. One of these is the aging of the population, coupled with major shifts in the emphasis women place on careers. The entire pattern of family structure in the U.S. has been in a state of flux as divorce rates increase, out-of-wedlock births increase, and patterns of work change as both husband and wife tend more and more to work outside the home, altering the timing of births and birth decisions for families. In the past, the seasonality of childbearing was more stable and clearly delineated, with women of a certain age marrying and starting families as a matter of course. Today, the birth rate for that particular pool of women has decreased somewhat while there have been increases on either side of the age group, increases in the incidence of pregnancy among teenage girls (and in the number of such girls carrying their children to term and even keeping the babies when they can) and among older women who have made career choices to defer childbearing and who are trying to catch up in the face of their "biological clock," or the likelihood that they will reach an age at which childbearing is inadvisable if not impossible.

The American family has changed in a number of ways over the cour

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ertility rate was 2.5 in 1970, and it dropped well below replacement to a new historic low of 1.7 by 1976, varying little from an average of 1.8 since then. In other parts of the Western world fertility has declined to even lower levels. The birthrate estimated for the United States at its first census in 1790 was 55 per 1000 population, indicating a total fertility of just under eight births per woman. Today, the birthrate is 15.5, with a total fertility rate around 1.8 births per woman. During its history, the United States has experienced a more or less continuous decline in fertility except for the baby boom between 1947 and 1964. Family life has changed greatly in the past 75 years, producing changes in fertility as well. Changes in family living arrangements and preferences were particularly pronounced from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, which corresponds to the period of transition for the babyboom generation from adolescence to adulthood. The 1980s would be a period of return to stability in terms of average family living arrangements and family size, fertility rates, and the divorce rate. Population growth in the 1990s will continue a trend toward an older population, with growth especially among person

Category: Psychology - P