changing of birth rates

birth rates refers to the number of live births per 1000 of the population over a year

• since 1990, the birth rates have been declining in the UK, from 29 births per 1000 in 1901 to approximately 13 births per 1000 in 2022

the decline has caused these trends:

• increase in age of first pregnancies- the average age of first pregnancies in 2022 is 29 years old. The number of children born to those over the age of 4 has doubled in the last 20 years

• increase in childless couples - 1 in 5 women born in 1961 are childless. Britain is nearly top in the world table for women over 40 who haven’t had children - at age 40, 18% of British women are childless

• decline in teenage pregnancies - although Britain has the highest teenage pregnancies rate in Europe, in 2012 we saw the lowest rates for teenage pregnancy since records began (1969) and it has been declining since.

sociological explanations for the decrease in birth rates:

secularisation (functionalism)

• decline in religion and tradition

• Wilson - not a sin to not get married or get children - you can live alone and stay single - not stigmatised - religion doesn’t force people to get married and have children its their choice

  individualisation (postmodernism)

• increase of freedom and choice

• Drew - people have a matter of choice - and have higher standards/expectations - if people don’t meet these expectations people wont get married and not settle down to have children

  ambition (liberal feminism)

• geographical mobility and financial stability

• Wilkinson - ‘genderquake’ (a shift in gender roles)

• Sharpe and her interviews

• women move away for work and are more focused on their careers- this means they are more focused on careers instead of getting children