Chapter 9 To Parent or Not to Parent

Chapter Outline  Fertility Trends in the United Sates  The Decision to Parent or Not to Parent  Having Children: Options and Circumstances

Chapter Outline  Preventing Pregnancy  Abortion  Involuntary Infertility and Reproductive Technology  Adoption

The U.S. Total Fertility Rate (TFR)  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: in  In recent years, the total fertility rate has fluctuated around 2.0; on average, American women are having around two children each.

The U.S. Total Fertility Rate (TFR)  At the same time, choosing not to be a parent is becoming more acceptable.  We continue to see childbearing increasingly shifted to later ages.  2008 showed a 2% drop in teen birthrates and a 3% drop in birthrates to women in their twenties.  Childlessness is higher for women now than in the past.

Total Fertility Rates, United States, 1970–2008

Multiple Births The number of twins, triplets, and higher-order births has increased dramatically since 1980.

Fertility Trends in the U.S.  Family Size  Differential Fertility Rates  Choosing Large Families in a Small Family Era  Race/Ethnicity and Differential Fertility Rates

Fertility Trends in the U.S.  The decline in fertility is actually a continuation of a long-term pattern dating to about  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

Family Size  The ideal family size in the United States is now 2.5 children.

Family Size  In 2006, only 6.4% of women who had completed their childbearing had four children and 3.5% had five or more children, compared to more than three times that percentage in 1976.

Family Size  U.S. fertility rates hover slightly below or slightly above replacement level.  The United States appears to have strong fertility norms encouraging at least two children and discouraging childlessness and one-child families.

A Closer Look at Diversity: Choosing Large Families in a Small-Family Era  What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of large families?  Small families?  What is your ideal family size?  Why?

Differential Fertility Rates  Fertility rates vary among segments of the population.  Usually, more highly educated and well-off families have fewer children.  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.

Facts about Families: Race/Ethnicity and Differential Fertility Rates

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.

Facts about Families: Race/Ethnicity and Differential Fertility Rates  Critical Thinking: The total fertility rate, which is an approximation of average family size, is lower in all racial/ethnic groups than it was during the baby boom era (1946 to 1964).  Why do you think this is so?  Does it have to do with economic pressures?  Changing attitudes toward children?  Or something else?

The Decision to Parent or Not to Parent  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.

Social Pressures to Have Children  Our society has a pronatalist bias: Having children is taken for granted.  83% of American women say being or becoming a mother is important to their identity.  Some of the strongest pressures may come from a couple’s parents.

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.

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.

Motivations for Parenthood  Value of children perspective – The idea that children bring unique benefits to parents  Social capital perspective – The anticipated social capital benefits of parenthood

Costs of Having Children  Cost of raising a child born in 2007 to the age of 18, including college - $269,040.  Opportunity Costs  Parents forego income and investment when they raise their children.  Parents work additional hours and have less leisure time.

How Children Affect Marital 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.

Anticipating a Child  A military wife displays the ultrasound image she has sent to her husband in Iraq so he can keep a photo of their baby-to-be with him.

Remaining Childfree  Voluntary Childlessness: 70% of women surveyed in 2001 said “no” to the question of whether “a woman needs the experience of motherhood to have a complete life,” including 69% of mothers.  Factors:  Greater ability to control fertility  Participation of women in work force  Concern about overpopulation  Rejection of the traditional family

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

Having Children: Options and Circumstances  Decisions about becoming parents are being made in a much wider variety of circumstances.  The Timing of Parenthood:  The age of first birth increased from 21 years to 25.  Birthrates have declined for women in their teens and in their thirties.  Birthrates for women in their forties continue to increase dramatically.

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

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

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.

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.

The One-Child Family  In 2006, 16.9% of women had just one child.  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

Having One Child  Some families choose to have only one child, a decision that can ease time, energy, and economic concerns.  Only children do not experience sibling relationships but tend to receive more personal attention from parents.

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

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.

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.

Nonmarital Births  In 2008, 40.6% of births were to unmarried women.  Biologically, women mature earlier today, but they marry later and are more likely to divorce so they spend more years at risk of a nonmarital pregnancy.  In 2006, 64.5% percent of women experiencing a birth were married to the father, and another 4.8% were living with the father without being married.

Births to Unmarried Women As a Percentage of All Births, 2008

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

Nonmarital Births  Adolescents:  The U.S has the highest teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates of any industrialized country.  Most teen women are not married, and they lack the economic support of a spouse and co-parent.  Teenage parents face a bleak educational future, limited job prospects, and a very good chance of living in poverty.

Nonmarital Births  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.

Birthrate for Women and % Births to Unmarried Teen Women, 1950–2010.

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.

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.  13% of men age have had vasectomies.

Percent Distribution of women aged 15-44, by current contraceptive status: U.S.,

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.  About 40% of unintended pregnancies are aborted.

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%

The Politics of 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.

% of U.S. Adults Approving of Abortion Under Certain Circumstances Abortion Should Be Legal When the woman’s life is endangered85% When the woman’s health is endangered77% When the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest76% When the woman’s mental health is endangered63%

% of U.S. Adults Approving of Abortion Under Certain Circumstances Abortion Should Be Legal When there is evidence that the baby may be physically impaired 56% When there is evidence that the baby may be mentally impaired 55% When the woman or family cannot afford to raise the child 35%

Involuntary Infertility and Reproductive Technology  Involuntary infertility is wanting to conceive and bear a child but being unable to do so.  Impaired fertility is when a woman or a couple has a physical barrier to pregnancy.  Secondary infertility is when a woman or couple had children previously, but now cannot.  Around 12% of American women have impaired fertility, while 7% of married women are infertile.

Infertility Services and Reproductive Technology  Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become an accepted reproductive option.  In 2004, there were 128,000 ART procedures, which resulted in almost 50,000 infants.  44% of women with fertility problems sought medical help in  20% of those using infertility services were not married, and 11% were poor.

Number (in millions) and % of women, age 22-24, with current fertility problems who have ever used infertility services, by type, 1995 and 2002

Reproductive Technology: Social and Ethical Issues  Commercialization of Reproduction  Inequality Issues  What is a Parent?  What Kind of Child?

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.

Adoption  The U.S. Census looked at adoption for the first time in 2000 when there were more than 2 million adopted children in U.S. households, about 2.5% 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.

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.

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 dissolved adoptions (the child is returned after the adoption is final).  Some adoptees develop attachment disorder, defensively unwilling or unable to make future attachments.

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.

International Adoptions  About 18,000 adoptions in 2000 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.

Quick Quiz

1. Some observers argue that U.S. society has become __________  that is, against having children or, at least, that it is not doing all it can to support parents and their children. a) child disoriented b) antinatalist c) child-opposed d) child-phobic

Answer: b  Some observers argue that U.S. society has become antinatalist  that is, against having children or, at least, that it is not doing all it can to support parents and their children.

2. The text points out that, over time, spouses’ reported marital satisfaction tends to a) decline over time. b) increase somewhat over time. c) remain stable. d) increases dramatically over time.

Answer: a  The text points out that spouses’ reported marital satisfaction tends to decline over time.

3. Marital strain is considered to be a common cost of having children. a) True b) False

Answer: True  Marital strain is considered to be a common cost of having children.

4. About _____% of unintended pregnancies are aborted. a) 25 b) 40 c) 50 d) 75

Answer: True  About 40% of unintended pregnancies are aborted.