Support for new mothers and fertility in the United Kingdom: Not all support is equal in the decision to have a second child

Low fertility across Europe highlights the need to understand reproductive decisions in high-income countries better. Availability of support may be one factor influencing reproductive decisions, though within high-income countries availability varies between environments, including socio-economic e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Population studies 2017-11, Vol.71 (3), p.345-361
Main Authors: Schaffnit, Susan B., Sear, Rebecca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
allomaternal support
Availability
Birth
Birth Rate
Births
Child care
Childbirth & labor
Children
Cohort analysis
cooperative breeding
Decisions
Emotional support
Emotions
Family
Family Characteristics
Family planning
Female
Females
Fertility
Humans
Income
Industrialized nations
intergenerational support
Longitudinal Studies
Maternal Welfare
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
paternal investment
Social Support
socio-economic status
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomics
United Kingdom
United Kingdom (UK)
Women
Young Adult
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Summary:Low fertility across Europe highlights the need to understand reproductive decisions in high-income countries better. Availability of support may be one factor influencing reproductive decisions, though within high-income countries availability varies between environments, including socio-economic environments. We test whether receiving higher levels of support, from different sources (informal and formal) and of different types (practical and emotional), is positively correlated with second births in the United Kingdom (UK) Millennium Cohort Study, and whether these relationships differ by socio-economic position (SEP). Our hypothesis is only partially supported: receiving emotional support correlates with higher likelihood of second birth, but the opposite is true for practical support. Availability of different types of support varies across SEP, but relationships between support and fertility are similar, with one exception: kin-provided childcare increases the likelihood of birth only among lower-SEP women. Our results highlight that not all support is equal in the decision to have a second child.
ISSN:0032-4728
1477-4747
DOI:10.1080/00324728.2017.1349924