Births

• Total fertility rate: the average number of children a woman will have in have during their fertile years

  Since the most recent baby boom 1960s- the UKs TFR has been under 2.0
• Infant mortality rate: Number of babies who were born alive who die in their first year of life, per thousand per year
• Dependency ratio: ratio between the size of the working population and the size of the nonworking/dependent population. The savings and taxes of the working population helps support the dependent population
• reasons for decline births:

  1. Changes in womens positions: Legal equality with men, increased educational opportunities, more women in paid positions, changing attitudes to family life and womens role, easier access to employment and access to abortion. 

          -Now educated women are more likely to use family planning & see other possibilities in life that isnt the traditional housewife and mother. Delaying childbearing/not having children in order to have a career.
• reasons for decline in birth:

  1.  Decline in infant mortality rate: Less infants are dying parents arent haaving to have more babies to replace them. 

  IMR started to fall bc: Improved sanitation & water. Better knowledge of hygiene . Improved services for mother & baby. post/antenatal
• Reasons for decline in birth:

  1. Children are now an economic liability: in 19th century, children were economic assets bc sent out to work & earned an income. Now economic liability. BC of: Laws banning child labour, compulsory schooling meant economically dependent on parents for longer. Changing norms about what children have a right to expert from their parents in material terms means cost of raising children has risen.

  Therefore parents now feel less able/willing than in the past to have a large family.
• birth rates, fertility rates, and family sizes have decreased over the last century. However there has been a slight increase starting from the 21st century. One reason is immigration- mothers from foreign counties have a higher fertility rate than those in the UK.
• Effects of changes in the fertility: 

  • Smaller families: women are more likely to be free to go out to work creating the dual earner couple.
  • Dependency ratio: Children are part of the dependent population, so a fall of the number of children reduces the ‘burden of dependency’ on the working population. However long term, fewer babies being born  means smaller working population so the burden of dependency may increase again.