Interlude

Abstract During the baby boom, childlessness plummeted; at the same time, more couples planned and limited their family size. The baby boom included both an increase in the number of children born per woman and an increase in the percentage of women having children. Many women had children all at the same time. Women born around 1935 had the lowest levels of childlessness on record in Europe and America. In one respect, however, the baby boom provided continuity: these parents nurtured the belief that they could and should plan their families. This chapter details the history of childlessness during the years of the baby boom.