Fertility factor (demography)

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Fertility factors are determinants of the number of children that an individual is likely to have. Fertility factors are mostly positive or negative correlations without certain causations.

Contents

Factors associated with increased fertility include the intention to have children, [1] remaining religiosity, [2] general inter-generational transmission of values, [1] high status of marriage [3] [ non-primary source needed ] and cohabitation, [4] [ non-primary source needed ] maternal [5] and social [1] support, rural residence, [1] a small subset of pro-family social programs, [1] low IQ [6] such as conscientiousness, and generally increased food production. [7]

Factors generally associated with decreased fertility include rising income, [1] value and attitude changes, [8] [1] education, [1] [9] female labor participation, [10] population control, [11] age, [12] contraception, [1] partner reluctance to child-bearing, [1] infertility, [13] pollution, [14] and obesity. [15]

Factors associated with increased fertility

Intention

A Norwegian family ca 1900, parents plus five children Paus family portrait NFB-18645.jpg
A Norwegian family ca 1900, parents plus five children

The predictive power of intentions continues to be debated. Research that argues that intentions are a good predictor of actual results tends to draw ideas from the theory of planned behavior (TPB). According to the TPB, intentions stem from three factors: attitudes regarding children, including the cost of raising them versus perceived benefits; subjective norms, for example the influence of others; and perceived control over behavior, that is, how much control an individual has over their own behavior. [1]

Fertility intentions tend to boil down to quantum intentions, or how many children to bear, and tempo intentions, meaning when to have them. Of these, quantum intention is the poor predictor because it tends to change as a result of the ups and downs of a typical life. Tempo intention is a somewhat better predictor, but still a weak way to predict actual results. [1]

The intention to have children generally increases the probability of having children. This relation is well evidenced in advanced societies, where birth control is the default option. [1]

A comparison of a survey to birth registers in Norway found that parents were more likely to realize their fertility intentions than childless respondents. [16] It was also suggested that childless individuals may underestimate the effort of having children. [16] On the other hand, parents may better understand their ability to manage another child. [16] Individuals intending to have children immediately are more likely to achieve this within two years, [16] whereas in contrast, the fertility rate was found to be higher among those intending to have children in the long term (after four years). [16] Stability of fertility intentions further improves the chance to realize them. [17] Such stability is increased by the belief that having a child will improve life satisfaction and partner relationships. [17]

Chances of realizing fertility intentions are lower in post-Soviet states than in Western European states. [18]

There are many determinants of the intention to have children, including:

Fertility preference

The Preference Theory suggests that a woman's attitudes towards having children are shaped early in life. Furthermore, these attitudes tend to hold across the life course, and boil down to three main types: career-oriented, family-oriented, and a combination of both work and family. Research shows that family-oriented women have the most children, and work-oriented women have the least, or none at all, although causality remains unclear. [1]

Preferences can also apply to the sex of the children born, and can therefore influence the decisions to have more children. For instance, if a couple's preference is to have at least one boy and one girl, and the first two children born are boys, there is a significantly high likelihood that the couple will opt to have another child. [1]

Religiosity

A survey taken place in 2002 in the United States found that women who reported religion as "very important" in their everyday lives had a higher fertility than those reporting it as "somewhat important" or "not important". [2]

For many religions, religiosity is directly associated with an increase in the intention to have children. [2] This appears to be the main means by which religion increases fertility. [21] For example, as of 1963, Catholic couples generally had intentions to have more children than Jewish couples, who in turn, tended to have more children than Protestant couples. [21] Among Catholics, increased religiosity is associated with the intention to have more children, while on the other hand, increased religiousness among Protestants is associated with the intention to have fewer children. [21]

It has also been suggested that religions generally encourage lifestyles with fertility factors that, in turn, increase fertility. [22] For example, religious views on birth control are, in many religions, more restrictive than secular views, and such religious restrictions have been associated with increased fertility. [23]

Religion sometimes modifies the fertility effects of education and income. Catholic education at the university level and the secondary school level is associated with higher fertility, even when accounting for the confounding effect that higher religiosity leads to a higher probability of attending a religiously affiliated school. [21] Higher income is also associated with slightly increased fertility among Catholic couples, however, is associated with slightly decreased fertility among Protestant couples. [21]

Parents' religiosity is positively associated with their children's fertility. Therefore, more religious parents will tend to increase fertility. [1]

A 2020 study found that the relation between religiosity and fertility was driven by the lower aggregate fertility of secular individuals. While religiosity did not prevent low fertility levels (as some highly religious countries had low fertility rates), secularism did prevent high fertility (as no highly secular country had high fertility rates). Societal level secularism was also a better predictor of religious individuals' fertility than secular individuals, largely due to the effects of cultural values on reproduction, gender and personal autonomy. [24]

Intergenerational transmission of values

The transmission of values from parents to offspring (nurture) has been a core area of fertility research. The assumption is that parents transmit these family values, preferences, attitudes and religiosity to their children, all of which have long-term effects analogous to genetics. Researchers have tried to find a causal relationship between, for example, the number of parents' siblings and the number of children born by the parents own children (a quantum effect), or between the age of the first birth of the parents' generation and age of first birth of any of their own children (a tempo effect). [1]

Most studies concerning tempo focus on teenage mothers and show that having had a young mother increases the likelihood of having a child at a young age. [1]

In high-income countries, the number of children a person has strongly correlates with the number of children that each of those children will eventually have. [25] [ non-primary source needed ] [1]

Danish data from non-identical twins growing up in the same environment compared to identical twins indicated that genetic influences in themselves largely override previously shared environmental influences. [1] The birth order does not seem to have any effect on fertility. [21]

Other studies, however, show that this effect can be balanced by the child's own attitudes that result from personal experiences, religiosity, education, etc. So, although the mother's preference of family size may influence that of the children through early adulthood, [25] the child's own attitudes then take over and influence fertility decisions. [1]

Marriage and cohabitation

The effect of cohabitation on fertility varies across countries. [1]

In the US cohabitation is generally associated with lower fertility. [1] However, another study found that cohabiting couples in France have equal fertility as married ones. [1] Russians have also been shown to have a higher fertility within cohabitation. [26]

Survey data from 2003 in Romania showed that marriage equalized the total fertility rate among both highly educated and limited-education people to approximately 1.4. Among those cohabiting, on the other hand, a lower level of education increased the fertility rate to 1.7, and a higher level of education decreased it to 0.7. [27] Another study found that Romanian women with little education have about equal fertility in marital and cohabiting partnerships. [28]

A study of the United States, and multiple countries in Europe, found that women who continue to cohabit after giving birth have a significantly lower probability of having a second child than married women in all countries, except those in Eastern Europe. [29]

Maternal support

Data from the Generations and Gender Survey showed that women with living mothers had earlier first births, while a mother's death early in a daughter's life correlated with a higher probability of childlessness. On the other hand, the survival of fathers had no effect on either outcome. Co-residence with parents delayed first births and resulted in lower total fertility and higher probability of childlessness. This effect is even stronger for poor women. [5]

Social support

Social support from the extended family and friends can help a couple decide to have a child, or another one.

Studies mainly in ex-communist Eastern European countries have associated increased fertility with increased social capital in the form of personal relationships, goods, information, money, work capacity, influence, power, and personal help from others. [1]

Research in the U.S. shows that the extended family willing to provide support becomes a "safety net". This is particularly important for single mothers and situations involving partnership instability. [1]

A family of rural Africa African family poses for a picture in the farm.jpg
A family of rural Africa

Rural residence

Total fertility rates are higher among women in rural areas than among women in urban areas, as evidenced from low-income, [30] middle-income [30] and high-income countries. [1] Field researchers have found that fertility rates are high and remain relatively stable among rural populations. Little evidence exists to suggest that high-fertility parents appear to be economically disadvantaged, further strengthening the fact that total fertility rates tend to be higher among women in rural areas. [31] On the other hand, studies have suggested that a higher population density is associated with decreased fertility rates. [32] It is shown through studies that fertility rates differ between regions in ways that reflect the opportunity costs of child rearing. In a region with high population density, women restrain themselves from having many children due to the costs of living, therefore lowering the fertility rates. [32] Within urban areas, people in suburbs are consistently found to have higher fertility. [1] Some research indicates that population density may explain up to 31% of the variance in fertility rates, although the effect of population density on fertility can be moderated by other factors such as environmental conditions, religiosity and social norms. [33]

Pro-family government programs

Many studies have attempted to determine the causal link between government policies and fertility. However, as this article suggests, there are many factors that can potentially affect decisions to have children, how many to have, and when to have them, and separating these factors from effects of a particular government policy is difficult. Making this even more difficult is the time lag between government policy initiation and results. [1]

The purpose of these programs is to reduce the opportunity cost of having children, either by increasing family income or reducing the cost of children. [8] One study has found a positive effect on number of children during life due to family policy programs that make it easier for women to combine family and employment. Again, the idea here is to reduce the opportunity cost of children. These positive results have been found in Germany, Sweden, Canada, and the U.S. [34]

However, other empirical studies show that these programs are expensive and their impact tends to be small, so currently there is no broad consensus on their effectiveness in raising fertility. [4]

Other factors associated with increased fertility

Other factors associated with increase of fertility include:

Factors associated with decreased fertility

Fertility is declining in advanced societies because couples are having fewer children or none at all, or they are delaying childbirth beyond the woman's most fertile years. The factors that lead to this trend are complex and probably vary from country to country. [8]

Rising income

Graph of total fertility rate vs. GDP (PPP) per capita of the corresponding country, 2015. TFR vs PPP 2015.png
Graph of total fertility rate vs. GDP (PPP) per capita of the corresponding country, 2015.

Increased income and human development are generally associated with decreased fertility rates. [38] Economic theories about declining fertility postulate that people earning more have a higher opportunity cost if they focus on childbirth and parenting rather than continuing their careers, [1] that women who can economically sustain themselves have less incentive to become married, [1] and that higher income parents value quality over quantity and so spend their resources on fewer children. [1]

On the other hand, there is some evidence that with rising economic development, fertility rates drop at first, but then begin to rise again as the level of social and economic development increases, while still remaining below the replacement rate. [39] [40]

Value and attitude changes

While some researchers cite economic factors as the main driver of fertility decline, socio-cultural theories focus on changes in values and attitudes toward children as being primarily responsible. For example, the Second Demographic Transition reflects changes in personal goals, religious preferences, relationships, and perhaps most important, family formations. [8] Also, Preference Theory attempts to explain how women's choices regarding work versus family have changed and how the expansion of options and the freedom to choose the option that seems best for them are the keys to recent declines in TFR. [8]

A comparative study in Europe found that family-oriented women had the most children, work-oriented women had fewer or no children, and that among other factors, preferences play a major role in deciding to remain childless. [1]

Another example of this can be found in Europe and in post-Soviet states, where values of increased autonomy and independence have been associated with decreased fertility. [1]

Education

Results from research which attempts to find causality between education and fertility is mixed. [1] One theory holds that higher educated women are more likely to become career women. Also, for higher educated women, there is a higher opportunity cost to bearing children. Both would lead higher educated women to postpone marriage and births. [1] However, other studies suggest that, although higher educated women may postpone marriage and births, they can recuperate at a later age so that the impact of higher education is negligible. [1]

In the United States, a large survey found that women with a bachelor's degree or higher had an average of 1.1 children, while those with no high school diploma or equivalent had an average of 2.5 children. [3] For men with the same levels of education, the number of children was 1.0 and 1.7, respectively. [3] [ non-primary source needed ]

In Europe, on the other hand, women who are more educated eventually have about as many children as do the less educated, but that education results in having children at an older age. [1] Likewise, a study in Norway found that better-educated males have a decreased probability of remaining childless, although they generally became fathers at an older age. [41]

Catholic education at the university level and, to a lesser degree, at the secondary school level, is associated with higher fertility, even when accounting for the confounding effect that higher religiosity among Catholics leads to a higher probability of attending a religiously affiliated school. [21]

The level of a country's development often determines the level of women's education required to affect fertility. Countries with lower levels of development and gender equivalence are likely to find that a higher level of women's education, greater than secondary level, is required to affect fertility. Studies suggest that in many sub-Saharan African countries fertility decline is linked to female education. [42] [43] Having said this, fertility in undeveloped countries can still be significantly reduced in the absence of any improvement in the general level of formal education. For example, During the period 1997-2002 (15 years), fertility in Bangladesh fell by almost 40%, despite the fact that literacy rates (especially those of women) did not increase significantly. This reduction has been attributed to that country's family planning program, which could be called a form of informal education. [44]

Population control

China and India have the oldest and the largest human population control programs in the world. [45] In China, a one-child policy was introduced between 1978 and 1980, [46] and began to be formally phased out in 2015 in favor of a two-child policy. [47] The fertility rate in China fell from 2.8 births per woman in 1979 to 1.5 in 2010. [11] However, the efficacy of the one-child policy itself is not clear, since there was already a sharp reduction from more than five births per woman in the early 1970s, before the introduction of the one-child policy. [11] It has thereby been suggested that a decline in fertility rate would have continued even without the strict antinatalist policy. [48] In 2015 China ended its one child policy, allowing couples to have two children. This was a result of China having a large dependency ratio with its ageing population and working force. [49]

Extensive efforts have been put into family planning in India. The fertility rate has dropped from 5.7 in 1966 to 2.4 in 2016. [50] [51] Still, India's family planning program has been regarded as only partially successful in controlling fertility rates. [52]

Female labor force participation

Increased participation of women in the workforce is associated with decreased fertility. A multi-country panel study found this effect to be strongest among women aged 20–39, with a less strong but persistent effect among older women as well. [10] [ non-primary source needed ][ better source needed ] International United Nations data suggests that women who work because of economic necessity have higher fertility than those who work because they want to do so. [53]

However, for countries in the OECD area, increased female labor participation has been associated with increased fertility. [54]

Causality analyses indicate that fertility rate influences female labor participation, not the other way around. [1]

Women who work in nurturing professions such as teaching and health generally have children at an earlier age. [1] It is theorized that women often self-select themselves into jobs with a favorable work–life balance in order to pursue both motherhood and employment. [1]

Age

Cumulative percentage and average age for women reaching subfertility, sterility, irregular menstruation and menopause. Age and female fertility.png
Cumulative percentage and average age for women reaching subfertility, sterility, irregular menstruation and menopause.

Regarding age and female fertility, fertility starts at onset of menses, typically around age 12-13 [55] [56] [57] Most women become subfertile during the early 30s, and during the early 40s most women become sterile. [12]

Regarding age and male fertility, men have decreased pregnancy rates, increased time to pregnancy, and increased infertility as they age, although the correlation is not as substantial as in women. [58] When controlling for the age of the female partner, comparisons between men under 30 and men over 50 found relative decreases in pregnancy rates between 23% and 38%. [58]

An Indian study found that couples where the woman is less than one year younger than the man have a total mean number of children of 3.1, compared to 3.5 when the woman is 7–9 years younger than the man. [59]

Contraception

The "contraceptive revolution" has played a crucial role in reducing the number of children (quantum) and postponing child-bearing (tempo). [1]

Periods of decreased use of contraceptive pills due to fears of side effects have been linked with increased fertility in the United Kingdom. [1] Introductions of laws that increase access to contraceptives have been associated with decreased fertility in the United States. [1] However, short-term decreases in fertility may reflect a tempo effect of later childbearing, with individuals using contraceptives catching up later in life. A review of long-term fertility in Europe did not find fertility rates to be directly affected by availability of contraceptives. [8]

Partner and partnership

The decision to bear a child in advanced societies generally requires agreement between both partners. Disagreement between partners may mean that the desire for children of one partner are not realized. [1]

The last several decades have also seen changes in partnership dynamics. This has led to a tendency toward later marriages and a rise in unmarried cohabitation. Both of these have been linked to the postponement of parenthood (tempo) and thus reduced fertility. [1]

Infertility

20-30% percent of infertility cases are due to male infertility, 20–35% are due to female infertility, and 25-40% are due to combined problems. [13] In 10–20% of cases, no cause is found. [13]

The most common cause of female infertility is ovulatory problems, which generally manifest themselves by sparse or absent menstrual periods. [60] Male infertility is most commonly caused by deficiencies in the semen: semen quality is used as a surrogate measure of male fecundity. [61]

Other factors associated with decreased fertility

More complex factors

Delayed childbearing and tempo effect

The trend of couples forming partnerships and marrying at later ages has been going on for some time. For example, in the US, during the period 1970 to 2006, the average age of first-time mothers increased by 3.6 years, from 21.4 years to 25.0 years. [64]

Also, fertility postponement has become common in all European countries, including those of the former Soviet Union. [65]

Nevertheless, delayed childbirth alone is not sufficient to reduce fertility rates: in France despite the average high age at first birth, fertility rate remains close to the 2.1 replacement value. [8] The aggregate effects of delayed childbearing tend to be relatively minor, because most women still have their first child well before the onset of infertility. [65]

Additional variables

The following have been reported, at least in the primary research literature, to have no or uncertain effects.

Racial and ethnic factors

In the United States, Hispanics, and African Americans have earlier and higher fertility than other racial and ethnic groups. In 2009, the teen birth rate for Hispanics between the age 15-19 was roughly 80 births per 1000 women. The teen birth rate for African Americans in 2009 was 60 births per 1000 women and 20 for non Hispanic teens (white). [70] According to the United States census, State Health Serve and the CDC, Hispanics accounted for 23% of the birth in 2014 out of the 1,000,000 births in the United States. [71] [3] [ non-primary source needed ]

Multifactorial analyses

A regression analysis on a population in India resulted in the following equation of total fertility rate, where parameters preceded by a plus were associated with increased fertility, and parameters preceded by a minus were associated with decreased fertility: [38] [ non-primary source needed ]

Total Fertility Rate = 0.02 (human development index*) + 0.07 (infant mortality rate*) − 0.34 (contraceptive  use) + 0.03 (male age at marriage*) − 0.21 (female age at marriage) − 0.16 (birth interval) − 0.26 (use of improved  water quality) + 0.03 (male literacy rate*) − 0.01 (female literacy rate*) − 0.30 (maternal care)

* = Parameter did not reach statistical significance on its own

See also

Related Research Articles

Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increasingly common in Western countries since the late 20th century, being led by changing social views, especially regarding marriage, gender roles and religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teenage pregnancy</span> Childbirth in human females under the age of 20

Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. Worldwide, pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death for women and girls 15 to 19 years old. The definition of teenage pregnancy includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Pregnancy can occur with sexual intercourse after the start of ovulation, which can happen before the first menstrual period (menarche). In healthy, well-nourished girls, the first period usually takes place between the ages of 12 and 13.

In demography, demographic transition is a phenomenon and theory which refers to the historical shift from high birth rates and high death rates in societies with minimal technology, education and economic development, to low birth rates and low death rates in societies with advanced technology, education and economic development, as well as the stages between these two scenarios. In economic growth, the demographic transition has swept the world over the past two centuries, and the unprecedented population growth of the post-Malthusian period was reversed, reducing birth rates and population growth significantly in all regions of the world, and enabling economies to translate more of the gains of factor accumulation and technological progress into per capita income growth. The demographic transition strengthens economic growth process by three changes: (i) reduced dilution of capital and land stock, (ii) increased investment in human capital, and (iii) increased size of the labor force relative to the total population and changed age population distribution. Although this shift has occurred in many industrialized countries, the theory and model are frequently imprecise when applied to individual countries due to specific social, political and economic factors affecting particular populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family planning</span> Planning when to have children

Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marital situation, career or work considerations, financial situations. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction.

Fertility is the ability to conceive a child. The fertility rate is the average number of children born during an individual's lifetime and is quantified demographically. Conversely, infertility is the difficulty or inability to reproduce naturally. In general, infertility is defined as not being able to conceive a child after one year of unprotected sex. Infertility is widespread, with fertility specialists available all over the world to assist parents and couples who experience difficulties conceiving a baby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birth rate</span> Total number of live births per 1,000 divided by time period

Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; population counts from a census, and estimation through specialized demographic techniques. The birth rate is used to calculate population growth. The estimated average population may be taken as the mid-year population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Total fertility rate</span> Number of children a woman is expected to have barring select circumstances

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime if:

  1. they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime
  2. and they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sub-replacement fertility</span> Total fertility rate that (if sustained) leads to each new generation being less populous

Sub-replacement fertility is a total fertility rate (TFR) that leads to each new generation being less populous than the older, previous one in a given area. The United Nations Population Division defines sub-replacement fertility as any rate below approximately 2.1 children born per woman of childbearing age, but the threshold can be as high as 3.4 in some developing countries because of higher mortality rates. Taken globally, the total fertility rate at replacement was 2.33 children per woman in 2003. This can be "translated" as 2 children per woman to replace the parents, plus a "third of a child" to make up for the higher probability of males born and mortality prior to the end of a person's fertile life. In 2020, the global average fertility rate was around 2.4 children born per woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female infertility</span> Diminished or absent ability of a female to achieve conception

Female infertility refers to infertility in women. It affects an estimated 48 million women, with the highest prevalence of infertility affecting women in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa/Middle East, and Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Infertility is caused by many sources, including nutrition, diseases, and other malformations of the uterus. Infertility affects women from around the world, and the cultural and social stigma surrounding it varies.

Advanced maternal age, in a broad sense, is the instance of a woman being of an older age at a stage of reproduction, although there are various definitions of specific age and stage of reproduction. The variability in definitions is in part explained by the effects of increasing age occurring as a continuum rather than as a threshold effect.

Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance.

Natural fertility is the fertility that exists without birth control or other medical interventions. The control is the number of children birthed to the parents and is modified as the number of children reaches the maximum. Natural fertility tends to decrease as a society modernizes. Women in a pre-modernized society typically have given birth to a large number of children by the time they are 50 years old, while women in post-modernized society only bear a small number by the same age. However, during modernization natural fertility rises, before family planning is practiced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ageing of Europe</span> Overview of ageing in Europe

The ageing of Europe, also known as the greying of Europe, is a demographic phenomenon in Europe characterised by a decrease in fertility, a decrease in mortality rate, and a higher life expectancy among European populations. Low birth rates and higher life expectancy contribute to the transformation of Europe's population pyramid shape. The most significant change is the transition towards a much older population structure, resulting in a decrease in the proportion of the working age while the number of the retired population increases. The total number of the older population is projected to increase greatly within the coming decades, with rising proportions of the post-war baby-boom generations reaching retirement. This will cause a high burden on the working age population as they provide for the increasing number of the older population.

The relationship between fertility and intelligence has been investigated in many demographic studies. There is evidence that, on a population level, measures of intelligence such as educational attainment and literacy are negatively correlated with fertility rate in some contexts. However, genetic studies have shown no evidence for dysgenic effects in human populations. Theories about dysgenic and eugenic effects in human populations have historically been associated with scientific racism.

A two-child policy is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per family or the payment of government subsidies only to the first two children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family planning in India</span> Efforts to curb unintended pregnancies in India

Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. From 1965 to 2009, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved, but the national fertility rate in absolute numbers remains high, causing concern for long-term population growth. India adds up to 1,000,000 people to its population every 20 days. Extensive family planning has become a priority in an effort to curb the projected population of two billion by the end of the twenty-first century.

Female fertility is affected by age and is a major fertility factor for women. A woman's fertility is in generally good quality from the late teens to early thirties, although it declines gradually over time. Around 35, fertility is noted to decline at a more rapid rate. At age 45, a woman starting to try to conceive will have no live birth in 50–80 percent of cases. Menopause, or the cessation of menstrual periods, generally occurs in the 40s and 50s and marks the cessation of fertility, although age-related infertility can occur before then. The relationship between age and female fertility is sometimes referred to as a woman's "biological clock."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birth control in Africa</span>

Access to safe and adequate sexual and reproductive healthcare constitutes part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as upheld by the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prevalence of birth control</span> Overview article

Globally approximately 45% of those who are married and able to have children use contraception. As of 2007, IUDs were used by about 17% of women of child bearing age in developing countries and 9% in developed countries or more than 180 million women worldwide. Avoiding sex when fertile is used by about 3.6% of women of childbearing age, with usage as high as 20% in areas of South America. As of 2005, 12% of couples are using a male form of contraception with rates of up to 30% in the developed world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aging of South Korea</span> Overview of aging in South Korea

In South Korea, aging refers to an increase in the proportion of senior citizens to the total population. The term "senior citizens" include those aged 65 or older. According to Article 3 no.1 of the Framework Act on Low Birthrate of an Aging Society, the term "aging population" refers to the increasing proportion of elderly people in the entire population.

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Sources

Further reading

Calder, Vanessa Brown, and Chelsea Follett (August 10, 2023). Freeing American Families: Reforms to Make Family Life Easier and More Affordable, Policy Analysis no. 955, Cato Institute, Washington, DC.

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