Child-Bearing

Child-bearing: definition

The definition of child-bearing is simply to have children. This includes being able to carry, grow and give birth to a child or children. If a woman can have children, she is considered to be child-bearing.

The decision to have children is influenced by many social, economic, and personal factors. Couples usually decide together to have children, but it is the woman who goes through pregnancy and gives birth.

There are growing numbers of single mothers, and changes in social situations and the roles of women have influenced child-bearing rates.

Changes in child-bearing patterns

Let's look at some changes in child-bearing patterns, mainly through statistics.

According to ONS statistics for 2020, there were 613,936 live births in England and Wales, which is the lowest recorded number since 2002 and a drop of 4.1 per cent compared to 2019.

The total fertility rate also reached a record low; in 2020 it was 1.58 children per woman. Although COVID-19 affected this rate in 2020, there is a decrease in child-bearing in the UK and in many Western countries (ons.gov.uk).

Child-bearing and child-rearing

We'll now be looking at factors affecting child-bearing and child-rearing - specifically, how and why they have declined over the years.

There are many factors that have led to the decline in child-bearing and child-rearing. Let us examine a few.

Gender roles in the family in sociology

One of the main reasons for the decline in child-bearing is due to changes in gender roles in the family.

• Women want to focus more on their careers first, so they delay childbearing.

• Large families with numerous children are no longer the norm. To balance a career and family, many couples decide to have fewer children or none.

Fig. 1 - In recent times, women perform more roles outside of motherhood.

However, there are many other reasons for the decline in child-bearing, which we will consider below.

Secularisation

• The declining influence of traditional religious organisations means religious morality may not be prioritised by individuals.

• The declining stigma around sex has changed its perception; procreation is no longer the only purpose of sex.

• With the declining stigma around contraception and abortion, couples have more choice and control over their fertility.

• Traditional gender roles and 'duties' do not apply any longer; becoming a mother is not necessarily the most important task in a woman's life.

Improved means and availability of contraception

• Effective contraception is available to most people in the West, so there are fewer unwanted pregnancies.

• Access to legal abortion allows women more control over childbearing.

• Secularisation decreased the influence of religion in people’s lives, so contraception and abortion are less stigmatised.

Delay in child-bearing

• According to postmodern individualism, people want to ‘find themselves’ before they have children.

• People tend to have children after making a career, which can take longer in the increasingly uncertain world of work.

• It may take time to establish secure relationships. People do not want to have children until they have found the 'perfect' partner and the relationship style that suits them.

• In 2020, the age of women with the highest fertility rate was between 30-34 years. This has been the case since 2003. (ons.gov.uk)

The economic cost of parenting on child-bearing patterns

Economic factors have had an effect on child-bearing patterns.

• In uncertain employment situations and with the growing costs of living and housing, people might decide to have fewer children.

• Ulrich Beck (1992) argues that postmodern society is increasingly child-centred, which means people tend to spend more on one child. People tend to support their children for longer than earlier. To afford that, they have to have fewer children.