CONTEXT Much of the debate over welfare reauthorization centers on whether marriage promotion should play a key role. Few studies, however, have tracked the marriage and divorce histories of unwed mothers, including minority women, who are often the main targets of welfare reform. METHODS Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth were used to estimate the hazards of the transition t...

BACKGROUND Women in high-resource countries often postpone childbearing. Postponed childbearing may lead to increased health risks for both mother and child and may also result in childlessness. Attitudes among men and women about fertility and childbearing have been studied in different phases of fertile life, but instruments that assess attitudes toward fertility and childbearing among women ...

BACKGROUND Pregnancy in adolescence tends to repeat over generations. This event has been little studied in middle and low-income societies undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition. To assess this association it is important to adjust for socioeconomic conditions at different points in lifetime. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the independent effect of adolescent childbearin...

A lifeworld hermeneutic approach was used in order to understand Swedish women's thoughts on childbearing. Nine women were interviewed, and they ranged in age from 22 to 28 years and represented diverse socioeconomic, educational, sexual, and fertility backgrounds. All women were similar in that they lacked experience of giving birth and parenthood. The analysis showed that childbearing include...

This paper examines the demographic trend in Korea focusing on the period since 1985. It is suggested that the change in fertility and mortality is the main driving force for the aging structure of population. The continuing decline of fertility below the replacement rate is accompanied by the changes in the various aspects of fertility including the delay in marriage and childbearing, an incre...

INTRODUCTION American Indian women often have poor perinatal outcomes and are at risk for early childbearing. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experience and meaning of early childbearing among American Indian women. METHODS Employing interpretive phenomenology and a semistructured interview guide, we interviewed 30 adult American Indian women residing in a northwes...