Changing Patterns of Family Life: Child-Bearing

How many live births were there in the UK in 2018?

657,000 which is a 9.9% decrease since 2012 and the lowest since 2005

How many live births were to married couples?

51.6% which is the biggest decrease since 1973

What other changes have there been to child-bearing?

Fertility rates decreased in all age groups, except for women aged 40 years and over, in 2018

What are the reasons for decreasing child-bearing?

• Changing roles of women in society

• Improved contraception

• Delaying child-bearing

• Costs of child-bearing

Why is the changing roles of women in society a reason for a decrease in child-bearing?

• Women are becoming more involved in Higher Education and delaying marriage and children until later in life

• Career aspirations of women have led to a decrease in fertility rates of all women under the age of 40- suggesting that women are waiting longer to have children

• Increased career aspirations means women are less likely to have larger families as they want to progress within their careers

Why is an improvement in contraception a reason for a decrease in child-bearing?

• The availability and effectiveness of contraception and family planning methods allow women to have greater control over when they have children

• The availability of contraception on prescription and new technologies associated with contraception has increased the efficiency of protecting from unwanted pregnancy

• Male contraception has increased as a result of awareness campaigns into sexually transmitted diseases

Why is a delay in child-bearing a reason for a decrease in child-bearing?

• Greater individualism in lifestyles has meant that couples are more likely to wait until later in life to have children

• Career progression, insecurity of relationships and uncertain employment all impact the decision to have children

• The group with the highest fertility rate is 30-34 in 2018- in 1964 it was 25-29, marginally followed by the 20-24 age group

Why are the costs of child-bearing a reason for a decrease in child-bearing?

• Hirsch suggested that the economic cost of raising a child is more than £150,000- with precarious employment and higher costs of living, people may opt to have fewer children

• Social costs to parents of having children are also a factor, impacting the choices parents can make and their leisure and career aspirations

• The rise of a child-centred society can impact the costs of raising children

What about births outside of marriage?

• Births outside of marriage account for over 48% of live births in 2018- not all lone parents

• Cohabiting couples and changing attitudes to marriage impact this figure

• Reduction in social stigma attached to being born outside of marriage