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Changes in the timing of births in Melbourne, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Siew-Ean Khoo
Affiliation:
Development Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra
S. Krishnamoorthy
Affiliation:
Population Research Centre, JSS Institute of Economic Research, Karnataka, India

Summary

Two 10-year marriage cohorts from two surveys of married women in Melbourne were compared on their timing of the first and second births. The results showed that women who were married in the early 1970s were much more likely to delay their first birth until about the third or fourth year of marriage compared with women who married in the 1960s. However, there was no difference in the timing of their second birth in relation to the first birth between the two marriage cohorts. Women who delayed childbearing also preferred smaller families. Economic reasons were most frequently mentioned for delaying childbearing.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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