Why do people postpone parenthood

The paper deals with the issue of later childbearing and the driving forces behind the decision of postponing parenthood. Since this is a global process which affects not only individuals on the micro level, but whole populations, which nowadays face many social challenges, caused by the Second demographic transition. Socio-economic reasons mixed with cultural differences and changing values are among the main reasons for the shift of the timing of childbearing among women.

With the equalization of rights between men and women, the educational level of the female population has increased, leading to better career opportunities and the abandonment of the typical view on women as housewives. This and other questions are still left unanswered but should probably be included on the agenda. But this statement was hardly new for scientists, studying female fertility. Women become their first child older but what does old mean?

In this context, age could be seen from different perspectives, when talking about fertility. Since this is an ongoing process and the mean age of women having their first child is still increasing, this topic is relevant not only on the micro-level, concerning health, social recognition and family stability of older parents, but as well on the macro- level, as a drop in the population growth and changes in the employment market might occur.

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of this issue and explore the reasons for postponing parenthood, summarizing the most relevant arguments and explanations for the postponement. In the first part, theories will be presented so that the driving forces behind the later childbearing become clear. These will be divided in three main dimensions, whose main proposals will be respectively presented as hypotheses.

Next, different papers which discuss postponed parenthood will be critically reviewed, leading to confirming or rejecting the given hypotheses. In the final part, a summary will try to collect the main conclusions and give proposals for further investigation of the issue. The theoretical argumentation of a great amount of studies on fertility and postponement of parenthood derives from an economic, a social and a medical point of view. This is why the following part presents in a similar way the major forces for postponing childbearing, divided into three main categories, which assume different variables that could affect the changes in the life course of couples.

There is evidence that younger couples decide to postpone their first child because of fear of losing their autonomy and individuality- another feature of the new modernity Liefbroer: But one of the most important shifts that occurred with modernization is undoubtedly the chance for women to have a broader access to education and through their attainment of higher education respectively build careers and be at the same value as man on the employment market.

For this reason, an economic model of timing of first birth is created which could be directly connected to the rational choice theory. So if a woman does not see any benefits in the transition to parenthood, on the contrary, will suffer opportunity costs, the decision-making process will lead toward postponing parenthood. Another reason, suggested by Billiari concerning timing is the commitment to education, more precisely the concentration on energy and time during the studying period ebd.

So there is a possible connection between the length of the study and postponement of childbearing. In between - , women aged 16 - 35 years old who had their first baby-delivering for the first time was only From the same time frames, the number of women aged more than 35 years old who had their first birth giving raised 2. Whether they postponed marriage or parenthood, this survey proved that Indonesian people are currently not being in a rush regarding adding a new family member.

The woman is the defining factor of this phenomenon. Physically, the proper age for giving birth is between 21 and 35 years old. However, apart from that, there are a lot of factors that influence a child's life endurance. Elizabeth Gregory, the author of Ready: Why Women are Embracing the New Later Motherhood, said that woman's decision to postpone parenthood could bring an impact to her environment's economic condition.

If a woman prioritizes education and career, it means that she can guarantee a proper life-hood to her future children. Human Reproduction Update, 18 1 : Fertility postponement is largely due to rising educational enrolment.

Population Studies, 66 3 : The second demographic transition in Western countries: an interpretation. In: Mason, K. Gender and Family Change in Industrialized Countries. Popul Bul 42 :1— Production, reproduction and education: women, children and work in a British perspective. Pop Dev Rev 28 : — Increasing childlessness in Europe: Time trends and country differences.

Family and Societies. Working Paper Advanced maternal age: Delayed childbearing is rarely a conscious choice. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49 : 30—39; Hewlett.

Creating a life: What every woman needs to know about having a baby and a career. New York: Miramax; Szewczuk, E. Age-related infertility: A tale of two technologies. The general pattern observed amongst all groups of new parents shows an increase in happiness the year before and after the birth of a child, followed by a post-birth dip.

The oldest age group was the only one to recover from that dip, indicating a smoother transition into parenthood. For parents across all age groups, the happiness felt after the birth of each child decreased with the number of offspring they had. The rise in well-being was greatest following the birth of a first child, roughly double that experienced after a second baby.