Tuesday June 29, 2010
Tick, Tock: More U.S. Women Running Out Biological Clock for Childbearing
By Peter J. Smith
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Nearly one in five U.S. women now reach the end of childbearing age without having a child, doubling the number of childless women since the seventies, according to a new study by Pew Research Center.
Back in 1976, just one out of ten women (580,000) between ages 40-44 reported they were childless. As of 2008, nearly 1.9 million women ages 40-44, or 18% of women in that group, reported being childless – a jump of 80% in less than 40 years.
Pew reports that rates of barrenness have risen in all ethnic and racial categories, with white women leading the way at 20%. But Blacks and Hispanics have seen a substantial increase in women reaching the end of their fertility without having a child. The rate of childless women for each of these minority groups rose from 13% in 1994 to 17% in 2008 – a 30% increase in just over a decade.
What has declined over the past decade, however, is the number of unmarried women being childless by ages 40-44. In 1994, 71% of unmarried women in this group were childless, compared to 56% in 2008.
For women who are educated, the rate of childlessness has also steadily increased, with one exception: the percentage of women with advanced degrees who are also childless has gone down significantly over the past decade. Back in 1994, 30% of women ages 40-44 with masters degrees and 34% of women with Ph.D.’s or their equivalents reported being childless. But in 2008, only 25% of women in this group with masters degrees and 23% of women with a professional degree or Ph.D. reported being childless.
Pew reports that scholars say that some factors involved may be that social encouragement for women to bear children has lessened, contraception has increased, improved career goals have more women putting off childbearing, and society no longer views having children as part of a fulfilling life.
In 2007, only 41% of adults responded to a 2007 Pew poll saying that children are very important for a successful marriage. In 1990, however, 65% had said children were vital for a successful marriage.
But Pew does indicate that a growing percentage of Americans are concerned about how women not having children will impact society. While a 2009 Pew Research survey reported that 46% of Americans did not believe that an increasing proportion of women not having children makes a difference, 38% were reported as saying the trend toward barrenness is bad for society. The number reflects nearly a ten-point jump in concern, as only 29% of Americans held this opinion in a 2007 Pew Research survey.
The full report can be viewed here.