Late expectations: childbearing patterns of American women for the 1990's
O'connell, M.
Current Population Reports. Series P-20 Population Characteristics 1991(176): 1-18
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0363-6836 PMID: 12343427 Document Number: 317780
"This paper will examine the changes in the timing of entry into motherhood among post World War II birth cohorts of women and the childbearing patterns of women after age 30 [in the United States]. The principal data source used in this paper will be the Census Bureau's fertility and birth expectations survey from the Current Population Survey (CPS)....A brief summary of the origins and evolving problems associated with using birth expectations data as a method to predict future fertility swings will first be examined. Next, the usefulness of expectations data as a predictor of the future will be discussed in the context of historical patterns of childbearing....Finally, this paper will examine which socioeconomic groups of women are most likely to be characterized by delays in childbearing and their current prospects for having their first birth at later ages."