Showing papers on "Fertility published in 2013"

Fertility Preservation for Patients With Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update

Abstract: Purpose To update guidance for health care providers about fertility preservation for adults and children with cancer.

Births: final data for 2012.

Abstract: Objectives—This report presents 2012 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, attendant at birth, method of delivery, period of gestation, birthweight, and plurality. Birth and fertility rates are presented by age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, and marital status. Selected data by mother’s state of residence and birth rates by age and race of father also are shown. Trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics are described and interpreted. Methods—Descriptive tabulations of data reported on the birth certificates of the 3.95 million births that occurred in 2012 are presented.

Lifestyle factors and reproductive health: taking control of your fertility

Abstract: Approximately 10 to 15% of couples are impacted by infertility. Recently, the pivotal role that lifestyle factors play in the development of infertility has generated a considerable amount of interest. Lifestyle factors are the modifiable habits and ways of life that can greatly influence overall health and well-being, including fertility. Many lifestyle factors such as the age at which to start a family, nutrition, weight, exercise, psychological stress, environmental and occupational exposures, and others can have substantial effects on fertility; lifestyle factors such as cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, and alcohol and caffeine consumption can negatively influence fertility while others such as preventative care may be beneficial. The present literature review encompasses multiple lifestyle factors and places infertility in context for the couple by focusing on both males and females; it aims to identify the roles that lifestyle factors play in determining reproductive status. The growing interest and amount of research in this field have made it evident that lifestyle factors have a significant impact on fertility.

Births: final data for 2011.

Abstract: Objectives This report presents 2011 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal characteristics, including age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, attendant at birth, method of delivery, and infant characteristics (e.g., period of gestation, birthweight, and plurality). Birth and fertility rates are presented by age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, and marital status. Selected data by mother's state of residence and birth rates by age and race of father also are shown. Trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics are described and interpreted. Methods Descriptive tabulations of data reported on the birth certificates of the 3.95 million births that occurred in 2011 are presented. Denominators for population-based rates are postcensal estimates derived from the U.S. 2010 census. Birth and fertility rates for 2001-2009 are based on revised intercensal population estimates. Denominators for 2011 and 2010 rates for the specific Hispanic groups are derived from the American Community Survey; denominators for earlier years are derived from the Current Population Survey. Results The number of births declined 1% in 2011 to 3,953,590. The general fertility rate also declined 1%, to 63.2 per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The teen birth rate fell 8%, to 31.3 per 1,000 women. Birth rates declined for women in their 20s, were unchanged for women aged 30-34, and rose for women aged 35-44. The total fertility rate (estimated number of births over a woman's lifetime) declined 2% to 1,894 per 1,000 women. The number and rate of births to unmarried women declined; the percentage of births to unmarried women was essentially stable at 40.7%. The cesarean delivery rate was unchanged from 2010 at 32.8%. The preterm birth rate declined for the fifth straight year to 11.73%; the low birthweight rate declined slightly to 8.10%. The twin birth rate was not significantly changed at 33.2 per 1,000 births; the rate of triplet and higher-order multiple births also was essentially stable at 137.0 per 100,000.

Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research

Abstract: This paper provides a review of fertility research in advanced societies, societies in which birth control is the default option. The central aim is to provide a comprehensive review that summarizes how contemporary research has explained ongoing and expected fertility changes across time and space (i.e., cross- and within-country heterogeneity). A secondary aim is to provide an analytical synthesis of the core determinants of fertility, grouping them within the analytical level in which they operate. Determinants are positioned at the individual and/or couple level (micro-level), social relationships and social networks (meso-level); and, by cultural and institutional settings (macro-level). The focus is both on the quantum and on the tempo of fertility, with a particular focus on the postponement of childbearing. The review incorporates both theoretical and empirical contributions, with attention placed on empirically tested research and whether results support or falsify existing theoretical expectations. Attention is also devoted to causality and endogeneity issues. The paper concludes with an outline of the current challenges and opportunities for future research.

Infertility and impaired fecundity in the United States, 1982-2010: data from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Abstract: Objectives—This report presents nationally representative estimates and trends for infertility and impaired fecundity—two measures of fertility problems—among women aged 15–44 in the United States. Data are also presented on a measure of infertility among men aged 15–44. Methods—Data for this report come primarily from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), which consisted of 22,682 interviews with men and women aged 15–44, conducted from June 2006 through June 2010. The response rate for women in the 2006–2010 NSFG was 78%, and for men was 75%. Selected trends are shown based on prior NSFG years. Results—The percentage of married women aged 15–44 who were infertile fell from 8.5% in 1982 (2.4 million women) to 6.0% (1.5 million) in 2006–2010. Impaired fecundity among married women aged 15–44 increased from 11% in 1982 to 15% in 2002, but decreased to 12% in 2006–2010. Among all women, 11% had impaired fecundity in 2006–2010. Both infertility and impaired fecundity remain closely associated with age for nulliparous women. Among married, nulliparous women aged 35–44, the percentage infertile declined from 44% in 1982 to 27% in 2006–2010, reflecting greater delays in childbearing over this period. Among married women in 2006–2010, non-Hispanic black women were more likely to be infertile than non-Hispanic white women. Some form of infertility (either subfertility or nonsurgical sterility) was reported by 9.4% of men aged 15–44 and 12% of men aged 25–44 in 2006–2010, similar to levels seen in 2002.

Fertility Transition: Is sub-Saharan Africa Different?

Abstract: this high fertility combined with declining mortality has resulted in rapid population growth—2.5 percent per year—and the un projects the sub-Saharan population to grow from 0.86 billion in 2010 to 1.96 billion in 2050 and 3.36 billion in 2100. Such unprecedented expansion of human numbers creates a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges and makes it more difficult for the continent to raise living standards. Hence the growing interest in demographic trends in africa among policymakers. according to conventional demographic theory, high fertility in the early stages of the demographic transition is the consequence of high desired family size. Couples want many children to assist with family enterprises such as farming and for security in old age. in addition, high child mortality leads parents to have additional children to protect against loss or to replace losses. Fertility decline occurs once rising levels of urbanization and education, changes in the economy, and declining mortality lead parents to desire a smaller number of births. to implement these desires, parents rely on contraception or abortion, and family planning programs in many countries accelerate their adoption (notestein 1945;

Fertility treatments and multiple births in the United States.

Abstract: Background The advent of fertility treatments has led to an increase in the rate of multiple births in the United States. However, the trends in and magnitude of the contribution of fertility treatments to the increase are uncertain. Methods We derived the rates of multiple births after natural conception from data on distributions of all births from 1962 through 1966 (before fertility treatments were available). Publicly available data on births from 1971 through 2011 were used to determine national multiple birth rates, and data on in vitro fertilization (IVF) from 1997 through 2011 were used to estimate the annual proportion of multiple births that were attributable to IVF and to non-IVF fertility treatments, after adjustment for maternal age. Trends in multiple births were examined starting from 1998, the year when clinical practice guidelines for IVF were developed with an aim toward reducing the incidence of multiple births. Results We estimated that by 2011, a total of 36% of twin births and 77% of triplet and higher-order births resulted from conception assisted by fertility treatments. The observed incidence of twin births increased by a factor of 1.9 from 1971 to 2009. The incidence of triplet and higher-order births increased by a factor of 6.7 from 1971 to 1998 and decreased by 29% from 1998 to 2011. This decrease coincided with a 70% reduction in the transfer of three or more embryos during IVF (P<0.001) and a 33% decrease in the proportion of triplet and higher-order births attributable to IVF (P<0.001). Conclusions Over the past four decades, the increased use of fertility treatments in the United States has been associated with a substantial rise in the rate of multiple births. The rate of triplet and higher-order births has declined over the past decade in the context of a reduction in the transfer of three or more embryos during IVF. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Fertility reactions to the 'Great Recession' in Europe: Recent evidence from order-specific data

Abstract: OBJECTIVEThis paper provides recent cross-national evidence of the impact of the great recession on fertility in Europe in the context of the recent decade.METHODSUsing data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), from Eurostat, and from the OECD database, we employ fixed-effects modeling to study how changes in unemployment rates have affected birth rates across Europe.RESULTSWe find that countries that were hit hard by the recession show reduced fertility when compared with a continuation of recent trends, especially at younger ages.CONCLUSIONOur results indicate a strong relationship between economic conditions and fertility. However, there is variation by region, age, and parity suggesting the importance of life course and institutional factors.(ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.)1. Recent fertility development in Europe: Between trend reversal and economic crisisThe relationship between economic conditions and fertility is one of the classic research questions in family demography. Since the work of Malthus, much of the empirical literature on the determinants of fertility dynamics has been motivated by the idea that economic hardship and labor market uncertainties will cause people to postpone or revise their fertility plans (e.g., Adsera 2004; Sobotka, Skirbekk, and Philipov 2011; Hofmann and Hohmeyer 2012; Schmitt 2012). Since the global financial crisis swept across Europe starting in 2007, there has been renewed interest in the question of whether increasing unemployment rates and growing labor market uncertainties will have repercussions for fertility development.Unlike previous recessions and economic upheavals, the current recession is hitting Europe after a period during which the age at childbearing had continuously increased. Although a flattening out in the age at first childbearing has been reported for some European countries, it has leveled off at a relatively high level. Furthermore, the financial crisis hit Europe at a time when many countries had just started to see modest increases in their period fertility rates (Goldstein, Sobotka, and Jasilioniene 2009). In Greece, for example, an increase in the total fertility rate (TFR) that began at the turn of the century came to a halt in 2009 when the Greek economy started to crumble. From 2010 to 2011, Greece saw a decline in total fertility from 1.5 to 1.4. A similar reversal in positive fertility trends occurred in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Spain. Most remarkable were the developments in Latvia: When unemployment rates skyrocketed, fertility rates plummeted from 1.6 in 2008 to only 1.3 in 2011. Meanwhile, the neighboring country of Lithuania, where unemployment increased at a similar pace, did not experience any strong reaction in annual birth rates over the same period. In Portugal and Italy, which were also harshly affected by the recession, the TFR has also not yet reacted to the surge in unemployment thus far. The Nordic countries of Europe, which were only mildly affected by the recession, saw an unexpected but very uniform decline in total fertility in 2011 (see Figure A1 in appendix).This overview suggests that changes in fertility in response to the crisis have not been universal. It shows that fertility rates have declined in response to the crisis in several countries. In other countries, the economic crisis disrupted the positive fertility trend that began around the turn of the century. This positive trend has largely been attributed to a gradual end to fertility postponement, which had suppressed annual fertility rates (Goldstein, Sobotka, and Jasilioniene 2009). Researchers also noted that many European countries had implemented family-friendly policies prior to the onset of the crisis, which may have created an environment that is more conducive to fertility (Thevenon 2011; Fagnani 2012). Ideational changes, particularly a resurgence of more traditional family values among the recent cohorts, have also been cited as potential reasons for the reversal in fertility trends (Goldstein, Kreyenfeld, and Rosger 2012). …

The ageing ovary and uterus: new biological insights

Abstract: BACKGROUND Advanced maternal age is associated with reduced fertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This review details recent developments in our understanding of the biology and mechanisms underlying reproductive ageing in women and the implications for fertility and pregnancy.

Fertility knowledge and beliefs about fertility treatment: findings from the International Fertility Decision-making Study

Abstract: STUDY QUESTION How good is fertility knowledge and what are treatment beliefs in an international sample of men and women currently trying to conceive? SUMMARY ANSWER The study population had a modest level of fertility knowledge and held positive and negative views of treatment. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Few studies have examined general fertility treatment attitudes but studies of specific interventions show that attitudes are related to characteristics of the patient, doctor and context. Further, research shows that fertility knowledge is poor. However, the majority of these studies have examined the prevalence of infertility, the optimal fertile period and/or age-related infertility in women, in university students and/or people from high-resource countries making it difficult to generalize findings. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION A cross-sectional sample completed the International Fertility Decision-making Study (IFDMS) over a 9-month period, online or via social research panels and in fertility clinics. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Participants were 10 045 people (8355 women, 1690 men) who were on average 31.8 years old, had been trying to conceive for 2.8 years with 53.9% university educated. From a total of 79 countries, sample size was >100 in 18 countries. All 79 countries were assigned to either a very high Human Development Index (VH HDI) or a not very high HDI (NVH HDI). The IFDMS was a 45-min, 64-item English survey translated into 12 languages. The inclusion criteria were the age between 18 and 50 years and currently trying to conceive for at least 6 months. Fertility knowledge was assessed using a 13-item correct/incorrect scale concerned with risk factors, misconceptions and basic fertility facts (range: 0–100% correct). Treatment beliefs were assessed with positive and negative statements about fertility treatment rated on a five-point agree/disagree response scale. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Average correct score for Fertility Knowledge was 56.9%, with greater knowledge significantly related to female gender, university education, paid employment, VH HDI and prior medical consultation for infertility (all P 0.001). People who had given birth/fathered a child, been trying to conceive for less than 12 months, who had never consulted for a fertility problem and who lived in a country with an NVH HDI agreed less with negative beliefs. HDI, duration of trying to conceive and help-seeking were also correlates of higher positive beliefs, alongside younger age, living in an urban area and having stepchildren. Greater fertility knowledge was associated with stronger agreement on negative treatment beliefs items (P < 0.001) but was unrelated to positive treatment beliefs items. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION There was volunteer bias insofar as more women, people of higher education and people with fertility problems (i.e. met criteria for infertility, had consulted a medical doctor, had conceived with fertility treatment) participated and this was true in VH and NVH HDI countries. The bias may mean that people in this sample had better fertility knowledge and less favourable treatment beliefs than is the case in the general population. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Educational interventions should be directed at improving knowledge of fertility health. Future prospective research should be aimed at investigating how fertility knowledge and treatment beliefs affect childbearing and help-seeking decision-making. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) Merck-Serono S. A. Geneva-Switzerland (an affiliate of Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, UK) funded this project (RES-355-25-0038, ‘Fertility Pathways Network’). L.B. is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the ESRC (PTA-037-27-0192). I.T. is an employee of Merck-Serono S. A. Geneva-Switzerland (an affiliate of Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany).

Do Family Wealth Shocks Affect Fertility Choices? Evidence from the Housing Market

Abstract: This paper uses wealth changes driven by housing market variation to estimate the effect of family resources on fertility decisions Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we show that a $100,000 increase in housing wealth among home owners causes a 16% to 18% increase in the probability of having a child There is no evidence of an effect of MSA-level housing price growth on the fertility of renters, however We also present evidence that housing wealth growth increases total fertility and that the responsiveness of fertility to housing wealth has increased over time, commensurate with the recent housing boom

How the West 'Invented' Fertility Restriction ⁄

Abstract: Europeans restricted their fertility long before other parts of the world did so. By raising the marriage age of women, and ensuring that a substantial proportion remained celibate, the "European Marriage Pattern" (EMP) reduced childbirths by up to 40%. We analyze the rise of this first socio-economic institution in history that limited fertility through delayed marriage. Our model emphasizes changes in agricultural production following the Black Death. The production of meat, wool, and dairy (pastoral products) increased, while grain production declined. Women had a comparative advantage producing pastoral goods. They often worked as servants in husbandry, where they remained unmarried long after they had left the parental household. In a Malthusian world, this translated into lower population pressure, raising average wages by up to a quarter. The Black Death thus set into motion a virtuous circle of higher wages and fertility decline that underpinned Europe’s high per capita incomes. We demonstrate the importance of this effect in a calibration of our model.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Abstract: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) addresses sexual rights, reproductive processes, and sexual functions at all stages of life. It is about the right to participate in sexuality, including seeking, receiving, and passing on information about sexuality. It also encompasses personal choices about sexual activity, including fertility control. Yet, SRH is a taboo subject in many tradition-led communities, and its practice is constrained by social mores and conventions that restrict access to SRH information by women and minors. This is most apparent in four key areas of SRH practice: fertility control, sexually transmitted infections, maternal health, and sex education. Keywords: health; sexuality; indigenous healing systems; sexually transmitted disease

The impact of family policy packages on fertility trends in developed countries.

Abstract: We examine how strongly fertility trends respond to family policies in OECD countries In the light of the recent fertility rebound observed in several OECD countries, we empirically test the impact of different family policy instruments on fertility, using macro panel data from 18 OECD countries that spans the years 1982–2007 Our results confirm that each instrument of the family policy package (paid leave, childcare services and financial transfers) has a positive influence on average, suggesting that the combination of these forms of support for working parents during their children’s early years is likely to facilitate parents’ choice to have children Policy levers do not all have the same weight, however: in-cash benefits covering childhood after the year of childbirth and the provision of childcare services for children under age three have a larger potential influence on fertility than leave entitlements and benefits granted around childbirth Moreover, we find that the influence of each policy measure varies across different family policy contexts Our findings are robust after controlling for birth postponement, endogeneity, time-lagged fertility reactions and for different aspects of national contexts, such as female labour market participation, unemployment, labour market protection and the proportion of children born out of marriage

Female Reproductive Health After Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers: Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Female Reproductive Complications

Abstract: Purpose As more young female patients with cancer survive their primary disease, concerns about reproductive health related to primary therapy gain relevance. Cancer therapy can often affect reproductive organs, leading to impaired pubertal development, hormonal regulation, fertility, and sexual function, affecting quality of life. Methods The Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer (COG-LTFU Guidelines) are evidence-based recommendations for screening and management of late effects of therapeutic exposures. The guidelines are updated every 2 years by a multidisciplinary panel based on current literature review and expert consensus. Results This review summarizes the current task force recommendations for the assessment and management of female reproductive complications after treatment for childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers. Experimental pretreatment as well as post-treatment fertility preservation strategies, inc...

Fertility Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Falling and Stalling

Abstract: This paper uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to examine the current status of fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa, including the extent to which fertility decline has stalled. Among the two dozen countries covered by multiple surveys, 22 have initiated fertility transition, and a third of these countries have experienced stalling of fertility decline. We study the links between changes in contraceptive use, fertility preferences, and socioeconomic development (as reflected in changes in women's education, infant and child mortality, and real per-capita economic growth) and fertility decline and stalling. Changes in the measures of socioeconomic development are all related to the likelihood of stalling. We also analyze determinants of age-specific fertility rates in urban and rural places, and assess future prospects for fertility decline in the region. Progress in increasing women's educational attainment and in reducing infant and child mortality are identified as key factors contributing to sustained fertility decline.

New Cohort Fertility Forecasts for the Developed World: Rises, Falls, and Reversals

Abstract: With period fertility having risen in many low-fertility countries, an important emerging question is whether cohort fertility trends are also reversing. We produce new estimates of cohort fertility for 37 developed countries using a new, simple method that avoids the underestimation typical of previous approaches. Consistent with the idea that timing changes were largely responsible for the last decades' low period fertility, we find that family size has remained considerably higher than the period rates of 1.5 in many “low-fertility” countries, averaging about 1.8 children. Our forecasts suggest that the long-term decline in cohort fertility is flattening or reversing in many world regions previously characterized by low fertility. We document the marked increase of cohort fertility in the English-speaking world and in Scandinavia; signs of an upward reversal in many low-fertility countries, including Japan and Germany; and continued declines in countries such as Taiwan and Portugal. We include in our forecasts estimates of statistical uncertainty and the possible effects of the recent economic recession.

Fertility preservation in cancer survivors: a national survey of oncologists’ current knowledge, practice and attitudes

Abstract: Around 1 in 10 of all cancer cases occur in adults of reproductive age. Cancer and its treatments can cause long-term effects, such as loss of fertility, which can lead to poor emotional adjustment. Unmet information needs are associated with higher levels of anxiety. US research suggests that many oncologists do not discuss fertility. Very little research exists about fertility information provision in the United Kingdom. This study aimed to explore current knowledge, practice and attitudes among oncologists in the United Kingdom regarding fertility preservation in patients of child-bearing age. A national online survey of 100 oncologists conducted online via medeconnect, a company which has exclusive access to the doctors.net.uk membership of GMC registered doctors. Oncologists saw fertility preservation (FP) as mainly a women’s issue, and yet only felt knowledgeable about sperm storage, not other methods of FP; 87% expressed a need for more information. Most reported discussing the impact of treatment on fertility with patients, but only 38% reported routinely providing patients with written information, and 1/3 reported they did not usually refer patients who had questions about fertility to a specialist fertility service. Twenty-three per cent had never consulted any FP guidelines. The main barriers to initiating discussions about FP were lack of time, lack of knowledge, perceived poor success rates of FP options, poor patient prognosis and, to a lesser extent, if the patient already had children, was single, or could not afford FP treatment. The findings from this study suggest a deficiency in UK oncologist’s knowledge about FP options and highlights that the provision of information to patients about FP may be sub-optimal. Oncologists may benefit from further education, and further research is required to establish if patients perceive a need for further information about FP options.

Obesity leads to higher risk of sperm DNA damage in infertile patients

Abstract: There has been a growing interest over the past few years in the impact of male nutrition on fertility. Infertility has been linked to male overweight or obesity, and conventional semen parameter values seem to be altered in case of high body mass index (BMI). A few studies assessing the impact of BMI on sperm DNA integrity have been published, but they did not lead to a strong consensus. Our objective was to explore further the relationship between sperm DNA integrity and BMI, through a 3-year multicentre study. Three hundred and thirty male partners in subfertile couples were included. Using the terminal uridine nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay, we observed an increased rate of sperm DNA damage in obese men (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.5 (1.2-5.1)).

A Cognitive–Social Model of Fertility Intentions

Abstract: We examine the use and value of fertility intentions against the backdrop of theory and research in the cognitive and social sciences. First, we draw on recent brain and cognition research to contextualize fertility intentions within a broader set of conscious and unconscious mechanisms that contribute to mental function. Next, we integrate this research with social theory. Our conceptualizations suggest that people do not necessarily have fertility intentions; they form them only when prompted by specific situations. Intention formation draws on the current situation and on schemas of childbearing and parenthood learned through previous experience, imbued by affect, and organized by self-representation. Using this conceptualization, we review apparently discordant knowledge about the value of fertility intentions in predicting fertility. Our analysis extends and deepens existing explanations for the weak predictive validity of fertility intentions at the individual level and provides a social-cognitive explanation for why intentions predict as well as they do. When focusing on the predictive power of intentions at the aggregate level, our conceptualizations lead us to focus on how social structures frustrate or facilitate intentions and how the structural environment contributes to the formation of reported intentions in the first place. Our analysis suggests that existing measures of fertility intentions are useful but to varying extents and in many cases despite their failure to capture what they seek to measure.

Education Fever and the East Asian Fertility Puzzle: A case study of low fertility in South Korea

Abstract: Fertility throughout East Asia has fallen rapidly over the last five decades and is now below the replacement rate of 2.1 in every country in the region. Using South Korea as a case study, we argue that East Asia's ultra-low fertility rates can be partially explained by the steadfast parental drive to have competitive and successful children. Parents throughout the region invest large amounts of time and money to ensure that their children are able to enter prestigious universities and obtain top jobs. Accordingly, childrearing has become so expensive that the average couple cannot afford to have more than just one or two children. The trend of high parental investment in child education, also known as ‘education fever’, exemplifies the notion of ‘quality over quantity’ and is an important contributing factor to understanding low-fertility in East Asia.

Societal foundations for explaining low fertility: Gender equity

Abstract: BACKGROUND Gender equity theory in relation to fertility argues that very low fertility is the result of incoherence in the levels of gender equity in individually oriented social institutions and family-oriented social institutions. The salience of gender to the fertility transition is strong in theory but not as strong in specification of testable hypotheses, as has been pointed out in the literature. OBJECTIVE The paper aims to clarify the specification of gender equity theory through a discussion of the difference between equity and equality and to suggest methods that might be applied to test the theory. METHODS The theory is restated and further developed using literature from different disciplines. The method is described using a decomposition of fertility for women by human capital levels. RESULTS The clarification of the theory includes a reminder that the theory relates to differences in fertility between countries and not to differences in fertility between women in the same country. In comparisons between countries, higher gender equity leads to higher fertility. In comparisons of fertility across women in the same country, higher gender equity does not necessarily imply higher fertility. In relation to measurement, a specification is suggested that effectively compares women across countries controlling for their level of human capital. Simple graphics are used to indicate ways in which fertility between countries may vary. CONCLUSIONS The paper concludes that it is likely the gender equity theory can be tested more readily by examining the behaviour across countries of women with higher levels of human capital. © 2013 Peter McDonald.

The Effects of the Great Recession on Family Structure and Fertility

Abstract: Recessions can alter family life by constraining the choices that individuals and couples make concerning their family lives and by activating the family’s role as an emergency support system. Both effects were visible during and after the Great Recession. Fertility declined by 9 to 11 percent, depending on the measure, and the decline was greater in states that experienced higher increases in unemployment. The decline was greater among younger women, which suggests postponement rather than forgoing of births. The fall in fertility was sharpest for Hispanics, a result the authors attribute to a drop in Mexican immigration, which reduced the number of recent immigrants, the group with the highest fertility. Substantial increases occurred in the percentage of young adults, single and married, who lived with their parents, augmenting a long-term trend toward intergenerational coresidence. There was a slight decline in divorce and separation in states with higher unemployment.

Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: A review of findings and future directions

Abstract: Women and female great apes both continue giving birth into their forties, but not beyond. However humans live much longer than other apes do.[1] Even in hunting and gathering societies, where the mortality rate is high, adult life spans average twice those of chimpanzees, which become decrepit during their fertile years and rarely survive them.[2, 3] Since women usually remain healthy through and beyond childbearing age, human communities include substantial proportions of economically productive postmenopausal women.[4-7] A grandmother hypothesis8–12 may explain why greater longevity evolved in our lineage while female fertility still ends at ancestral ages. This hypothesis has implications for the evolution of a wide array of human features. Here we review some history of the hypothesis, recent findings, and questions for ongoing research.