1. Chapter 8 Deciding About Parenthood

2. Chapter Outline  Fertility Trends in the United States  Things to Consider When Deciding about Parenthood  Having Children: Options and Circumstances  Preventing Pregnancy  Abortion  Involuntary Infertility and Reproductive Technology  Adoption

3. Fertility Trends in the United States  The number of births a typical woman will have over her lifetime.  The TFR dropped sharply from a high of more than 3.5 at the peak of the baby boom (the post–World War II spurt in fertility) to the lowest level ever recorded: 1.738 in 1976.  In recent years, the total fertility rate has fluctuated around 2.0; on average, American women are having around two children each.

4. Total Fertility Rates, United States, 1911–2011

5. Family Size  The ideal family size in the United States is now 2.0 children.  Large families are stigmatized  Some people continue to choose large families for religious reasons.

6. Fertility Trends in the U.S.  The decline in fertility is actually a continuation of a long-term pattern dating to about 1800.  Changes in the economy and subsequently in gender roles  As women’s employment increased, fertility declined.  Declining infant mortality rates  It became unnecessary to bear so many children to ensure the survival of a few

7. Fertility Trends in the United States  At the same time, choosing not to be a parent is becoming more acceptable.  We continue to see childbearing increasingly shifted to later ages.  The birthrate for those ages 15-19 has declined to the lowest record in 65 years of record keeping.  Childlessness is higher for women now than in the past.

8. Differential Fertility Rates by Education, Income, and Race/Ethnicity  Families with higher education and income tend to have fewer children  Accounting for slightly less than 50 percent, non-Hispanic white births are no longer a majority in the United States.  All women in the U.S. have lowered their fertility since 1990.

9. Differential Fertility Rates  Fertility rates vary among segments of the population.  Women who are not in the labor force have higher birthrates and a larger completed family size on average than employed women.  Beliefs and values about having children vary among cultures.

10. United States total fertility rates (TFR) by race/ethnicity, 1990, 2000, 2010

11. Native American Fertility Rates  Native American women who live on reservations have significantly higher fertility than those who do not.  Differential birthrates reflect the fact that cultures have different beliefs and values about having children.

12. Things to Consider When Deciding About Parenthood  Variations in birthrates reflect decisions shaped by values and attitudes about children.  In a 2002 survey, women reported that over one-third of their recent births were unintended  14% unwanted  21% mistimed  As many as half of all births may be unintended.

13. Social Pressures to Have Children  Our society has a pronatalist bias: Having children is taken for granted.  Some of the strongest pressures may come from a couple’s parents.

14. Is American Society Antinatalist?  Some argue that U.S. society has become antinatalist—slanted against having children or not doing all it can to support parents and their children.  Compared to other nations at our economic level, nutrition, social service, financial aid, and education programs directly affecting the welfare of children are not adequate.

15. Value of Children  Children can bring vitality and a sense of purpose into a household.  Having a child broadens a parent’s role in the world:  Mothers and fathers become nurturers, advocates, authority figures, counselors, caregivers, and playmates.

16. Motivations for Parenthood  Value of children perspective – The idea that children bring unique benefits to parents

17. Costs of Having Children  Cost of raising a child born in 2011 to the age of 18 - $295,560.  Opportunity Costs  Parents forego income and investment when they raise their children.  Parents work additional hours and have less leisure time.

18. Facts about Families: Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth: The Basics  Conception  Pregnancy  Childbirth

19. How Children Affect Couple Happiness  Evidence shows that children, especially young ones, stabilize marriage.  But a stable marriage is not necessarily a happy one.  Research finds that not only do parents report lower marital satisfaction than nonparents, but the more children there are, the lower marital satisfaction is.  Parents are also more likely to experience depression than are nonparents.

20. Choosing to be Childfree  Voluntary Childlessness is the choice of approximately 7% of American women  The United States appears to have strong, although weakening, fertility norms that continue to encourage two children and discourage childlessness and only-child families.

21. The Lives of the Childfree  The voluntarily childless have more education and are more likely to have managerial or professional employment and higher incomes.  More urban, less traditional in gender roles, less likely to have a religious affiliation, and less conventional than their counterparts  Value relative freedom to change jobs or careers, move around the country, and pursue endeavors  More satisfied with their relationships than parenting couples are

22. Having Children: Options and Circumstances  Decisions about becoming parents are being made in a much wider variety of circumstances.  Timing Parenthood: Earlier versus Later  The age of first birth has increased.  Birthrates have declined for women in their teens and in their thirties.  Birthrates for women in their forties continue to increase dramatically.

23. Postponing Parenthood  Many couples today are postponing parenthood into their thirties, sometimes later.

24. Postponing Parenthood Factors:  Later age at marriage  Desire of women to complete their education and become established in their careers  Both women and men remain longer in the “emerging adulthood” stage  Availability of reliable contraception  Assisted reproduction technology

25. Early and Late Parenthood Consequences:  Women who postponed parenthood found that combining established careers with parenting created unforeseen problems.  Late mothers had more confidence about their ability to manage, more money to arrange services, and more confidence about parenting.  Late fathers expressed a great deal of joy in parenthood.

26. Early and Late Parenthood Consequences:  Children born to older parents benefit from the financial and emotional stability that older parents can provide.  Also often experience anxiety about their parents’ health and mortality.

27. Child Spacing  Experts report that for the physical and intellectual health of both mother and child, the optimal years for spacing children is a minimum of three.  For prospective parents interested in the timing of their parenthood, it’s important to have an awareness of the trade-offs.

28. Having Only One Child  The number of one-child families continues a steady increase, making up 19 percent to 20 percent of American families  The proportion of one-child families in America appears to be growing due to three factors:  women’s increasing career opportunities  the high cost of raising a child through college  peer support

29. The One-Child Family Advantages  Parents report they can enjoy parenthood without feeling overwhelmed and tied down.  They have more free time and are better off financially.  Family members share decisions more equally and can afford to do more things together.  Higher educational expectations for the child  More likely to know child’s friends  Had more money saved for college education

30. The One-Child Family Disadvantages  Lack of opportunity to experience sibling relationships  Only children may face extra pressure from parents to succeed.  As adults, they have no help in caring for aging parents.  For parents, there is the fear that the only child will be injured or die and that they only have one chance to prove themselves good parents.

31. Siblings  If these sisters get along well—as they appear to— they can provide companionship and support for each other as they go through life.  Over 700,000 siblings shared a residence in 2000.

32. Nonmarital Births  Approximately 40% of births are to unmarried women.  The growing proportion of nonmarital births accompanies changing societal attitudes.  Unmarried parents, including those not living together, may have a more regular relationship than was previously thought.

33. Births to Unmarried Women As a Percentage of All Births, 2011

34. Nonmarital Births  Cohabitants:  40% of nonmarital births are to heterosexual cohabiting women.  Fragile Families:  Less visibly attached unmarried parents, including those not living together, may have a more regular relationship than thought.  Older Single Mothers:  Single mothers by choice—with education, an established job, and economic resources

35. Nonmarital Births  Single Mothers by Choice:  The image is that of an older woman with an education, an established job, and economic resources who has made a choice to become a single mother.

36. Nonmarital Births  Births to Adolescents:  Prospects for the children of teen parents include lower academic achievement and, because of the lack of resources related to poverty, a trend toward a cycle of early unmarried pregnancy themselves.  Economic and/or racial/ethnic disadvantage may play a larger role than age in shaping a teen mother’s limited future.

37. Birthrate for Women 15-19 and % Births to Unmarried Teen Women, 1950–2011.

38. Multipartnered Fertility  Multipartnered fertility is a new interest and a very new area of research for family social scientists.  Study of urban parents at the time of their first birth realized in follow-up that some of those parents, particularly those unmarried at the birth, went on to have children with new partners.  Multipartnered fertility is most common in nonmarital families as these have a high rate of breakup.

39. Preventing Pregnancy  Female surgical sterilization has now become the most common method of birth control, primarily for women in their thirties and older.  Younger women more commonly rely on the pill.  About 50 million have had a vasectomy, a form of birth control that involves surgical sterilization and should be considered permanent

40. Abortion  The term abortion is used for the expulsion of the embryo or fetus from the uterus either naturally or medically.  40% of American women have had an induced abortion at some point in their lives.  Abortion decisions are primarily made in the context of unmarried, accidental pregnancy.  Abortion decisions vary greatly by age, race/ethnicity, and income

41. Reasons for Abortion  Having a child would interfere with the woman’s education, work, or ability to care for dependents – 74%  Not being able to afford a baby at this time – 73%  Not wishing to be a single mother or having relationship problems – 48%  The woman or couple had completed childbearing – 38%

42. The Politics of Family Planning, Contraception, and Abortion  1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, legalized abortion throughout the U.S.  Abortion continues to be legally available, as pro-choice advocates wish, while the goals of pro-life advocates have been partially reached through legal and practical restrictions on abortion availability.  This corresponds with the centrist position of the American public, which favors abortion under certain circumstances.

43. Percentage of U.S. Adults in May 2012 Saying

44. Involuntary Infertility and Reproductive Technology  Involuntary infertility is wanting to conceive and bear a child but being unable to do so.  About 6.7 million, or 11 percent of women—and 6 percent of married women—between ages 15 and 44 are infertile.  Male infertility accounts for fertility difficulties in approximately one-third of couples seeking infertility treatment

45. Infertility Services and Reproductive Technology  Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become an accepted reproductive option.  ART methods are incredibly costly.  About 1/3 of ART procedures result in a live birth.

46. Reproductive Technology: Social and Ethical Issues  ART and Abortion  Several eggs are fertilized but only one is allowed to develop.  Inequality Issues  ART is usually not affordable for those with low incomes  Who is a Parent?  Potential for three mothers

47. Reproductive Technology: Social and Ethical Issues  What kind of child?  As technology advances, the potential to create a child with certain traits expands.  Commercialization of Reproduction  A general concern is that the new techniques, when performed for profit, commercialize reproduction.

48. Reproductive Technology: Making Personal Choices  Choosing to use reproductive technology depends on one’s values and circumstances.  Religious beliefs and cultural values influence decisions.  Treatment can be financially, physically, and emotionally draining.

49. Adoption  There are about 1.1 million children with at least one adoptive parent in U.S. households—about 2 percent of all children.  In terms of numbers, most adopted children are in non-Hispanic white families.  Asian/Pacific Islander families have the highest rate of adoption relative to their population.

50. Adoption of Racial/Ethnic Minority Children  40% of adopted children are of a different race, culture, or ethnicity than both of their adoptive parents.  The Multiethnic Placement Act (1994) and the Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997) prohibit delay or denial of adoption based on race, color, or national origin of the prospective adoptive parents.  Long-term studies suggest that transracial adoption has proven successful for most.

51. Adoption of Older Children and Children with Disabilities  Together with certain racial/ethnic minorities, children who are no longer infants and children with disabilities make up the large majority of youngsters now handled by adoption agencies.  The majority of these adoptions work out well.  Only about 2% end up being disrupted or dissolved adoptions (the child is returned before or after the adoption is final).  Some adoptees develop attachment disorder, defensively unwilling or unable to make future attachments.

52. International Adoption  In this photo, taken in Plainview, Nebraska, four-year-old adopted daughter Natalie has just been sworn in as a U.S. citizen.  Since 2001, children adopted internationally by U.S. citizens receive their citizenship automatically.

53. International Adoptions  About 18,000 adoptions in 2004 were of children from outside the country.  60% of all children who have been adopted from overseas by American parents were from Asia; 15% from India, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Ukraine, Philippines, and Ethiopia; 13% from Russia, 11% each from Guatemala and Korea.