Catching up: the fertility of women over 30 years of age, Canada in the 1970s and early 1980s

This paper examines the fertility patterns of Canadian women in their later childbearing years (aged 30-44) to determine the rates and numbers of children being born to these women and to determine the change in the birth order. Using the Vital Statistics birth publications from Statistics Canada the authors examine the cohort for 5 time periods: 1970 1973 1976 1978 and 1981. The fertility of women over age 30 decreased in the 1970s and stabilized in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Relative to the fertility of all women in the childbearing ages women aged 35-44 had proportionately fewer children throughout the 1970s. In 1970 4.9% of all 1st-order births occurred to women aged 30-34 and 13.9% of all children born to these women were 1st-born. In 1981 these figures were 10.4% and 25.1% respectively. The rate of 1st-born children rose from 8.8 to 18.7% for women aged 35-39 and from 6.8 to 15.6% for women aged 40-44. There are 2 different patterns of fertility occurring simultaneously for women aged 30-44: 1) the fertility rates have been declining and as of 1981 were at the lowest levels ever; and 2) the proportion of 1st-born children is increasing sharply. In general most women are having fewer children but more women are having some children. The costs or advantages of having a child cannot be measured in strictly economic terms. The positive aspects of having a 1st child at a later age include 1) maturity of the parents 2) the opportunity to achieve much of what is considered important in society before becoming parents 3) greater financial security and 4) the ability to provide children with a more emotionally healthy environment. The costs for women having children for the 1st time at an older age include 1) economic 2) health 3) family (grandparents are less likely to be involved with childrearing) and 4) inadequacy (in both working outside the home while raising the child and making the transition from work to home).