Research project: Postponement and recuperation
Further understanding of what factors facilitate fertility recuperation at older ages is required and work in this area has recently been funded within the ESRC Centre for Population Change.
Further understanding of what factors facilitate fertility recuperation at older ages is required and work in this area has recently been funded within the ESRC Centre for Population Change.
Previous work by Berrington (2004) on the correspondence between fertility intentions and subsequent fertility behaviour found that women tend to overestimate their future fertility, particularly childless women. Women tend to revise their fertility intentions downwards over time. Despite this, fertility intentions among older childless women have the greatest power in predicting who will actually go on to have a birth. Lack of a partner was identified as a key variable affecting the chance of starting a family at older ages. Also having a partner with conflicting fertility intentions will affect the likelihood of a future birth.