Edith Gray

Using a reproductive life course approach to understand contraceptive method use in australia

This paper examines contraceptive method use at different stages of the reproductive life course. Previous research on contraceptive practice in developed countries typically applies age as a proxy for reproductive history. While age is an essential and useful life course measure for understanding contraceptive use, investigations of contraceptive practice should also consider parity and fertility intentions, as they may be more accurate measures of reproductive life course stage. Analysis is based on data collected in the 2005 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a nationally representative sample of women of reproductive age (18-44). For women at risk of pregnancy, the most commonly used methods are easily reversed methods such as the oral contraceptive pill (30%) and condom (23%), medium-term methods such as the intrauterine device and implantation (5%) and permanent methods (7% tubal ligation and 9% vasectomy of partner). Logistic regression models are used to investigate the use of four popular contraceptive methods by parity, age and fertility intentions controlling for socio-demographic factors. The main findings indicate that the use of these methods varies substantially by the stage of a womans reproductive life course: age, parity and fertility intentions are all associated with method use.

Childbearing desires of childless men and women: When are goals adjusted?

This paper examines the concept of desired future fertility. Childbearing desires are often conceptualized in the literature as representing an individuals ideal future fertility where there are no constraints or obstacles to achieve the desired outcome. As such, childbearing desires, unlike fertility intentions, are thought to be relatively unaffected by changing life circumstances. Using a theoretically driven model incorporating goal adjustment, we test whether desires of childless men and women do in fact change over time. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (2001-2010) we specifically investigate whether changing life circumstances do effect a change in childbearing desires. We find that age is strongly related to adjusting childbearing desires, as is relationship formation. Desires are however, not greatly influenced by short-term shocks such as an episode of poor health or unemployment, although these events have different effects for women and for men. Overall, the findings are consistent with psychological theories of goal adjustment, that is, individuals will revise their desires for having children if they perceive that their desires are not likely to be fulfilled.

Declining fertility: Intentions attitudes and aspirations.

The decline in fertility rates across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations has been the subject of considerable debate over the past decade. The sudden decline in fertility following the post-war baby boom is viewed by some as a return to long-run trends, while others attribute the fall to decline in government financial support for families and changing social attitudes, career and lifestyle aspirations. This article explores a range of attitudes and aspirations reported by a group of childless respondents to the Negotiating the Life Course survey to establish whether these attitudes/aspirations vary with their stated fertility expectations. Using responses to 20 questions that cover gender role attitudes, the importance of children, and career and lifestyle aspirations, we find some significant differences between those who do and those who do not want to have a child. We further investigate respondents’ fertility expectations three years on, and find that fertility expectations are not stable.

Childbearing Across Partnerships in Australia, the United States, Norway, and Sweden

This article compares mothers’ experience of having children with more than one partner in two liberal welfare regimes (the United States and Australia) and two social democratic regimes (Sweden and Norway). We use survey-based union and birth histories in Australia and the United States and data from national population registers in Norway and Sweden to estimate the likelihood of experiencing childbearing across partnerships at any point in the childbearing career. We find that births with new partners constitute a substantial proportion of all births in each country we study. Despite quite different arrangements for social welfare, the determinants of childbearing across partnerships are very similar. Women who had their first birth at a very young age or who are less well-educated are most likely to have children with different partners. The educational gradient in childbearing across partnerships is also consistently negative across countries, particularly in contrast to educational gradients in childbearing with the same partner. The risk of childbearing across partnerships increased dramatically in all countries from the 1980s to the 2000s, and educational differences also increased, again, in both liberal and social democratic welfare regimes.

Parental preference for sons and daughters in a western industrial setting: Evidence and implications

This paper considers whether sex composition of existing children in Australian families is an important factor in parity progression. Using census data from 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001, women are linked with their co-resident children, allowing investigation of family sex composition and its changing impact over time on the propensity to have another child. The study finds that parents are much more likely to have a third and fourth birth if existing children are all of the same sex, indicating a strong preference for children of both sexes. This increased propensity has added around three per cent to the fertility of recent cohorts. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential impact of sex-selection technologies on fertility. The authors argue that future widespread use of reliable sex-selection technologies might act to increase fertility in the short term, but would lead to a long-term reduction in fertility.

Australian attitudes toward sex-selection technology.

Previous research based on analysis of fertility behavior and expressed preferences shows that many Australian parents want both a son and a daughter. However, most respondents to a representative survey of Australians did not approve of IVF or abortion for sex-selection purposes, and most did not think a hypothetical blue or pink pill to select sex of a child should be legal.

Patterns of Contraceptive Use

This chapter investigates patterns of contraceptive use among Australian women who are at ‘risk’ of pregnancy: that is, women of reproductive age who are sexually active. The aims of this chapter are to determine how women control their fertility, and how contraceptive use varies over the reproductive life course. There are many factors that are associated with contraceptive method use to prevent or delay pregnancy. Availability and access to methods is an important consideration, and the chapter starts with an overview of the contraceptives available in Australia, from the most popular through to the lesser-used methods. Contraceptive method use in Australia is also compared with a number of other countries. Method use is then compared for different sections of the population. Important factors that have been found to be associated with contraceptive method use include age, partnership status, education, religiosity, family size (number of children ever born), and fertility intentions. An emphasis is placed on the type of method used and the timing of fertility intentions. This chapter uses information on contraceptive method use and fertility intentions collected in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey as part of the Generations and Gender modules in 2005, 2008 and 2011.

Taking stock: parents’ reasons for and against having a third child

In developed countries with below-replacement fertility, the proportion of people who have at least three children make a substantial difference to the aggregate level of fertility. This study, based on 40 in-depth interviews with Australian parents of two children, analyses what factors influence the decision to have a third child. Using a grounded theory method of qualitative analysis, the study finds that parents who have decided to stop at two children are more able to articulate their reasons than are parents who are considering having a third child. The reasons for stopping include age and health; work and finances; and the capacity to parent another child. The weighing up of multiple factors is evidence of parents taking stock of personal and financial resources when making complex family formation decisions. The reasons for having a third child are expressed with far less elaboration and are more guarded and personal. We conclude that there is less shared or familiar language for articulating the value of family relationships. The contemporary context is one in which parents are attempting to manage risks related to having children, including the personal and financial implications of time out of the workforce. This study finds a persistent story of limited resources among parents of two children. Policies aimed at increasing fertility need to address this perception of limited resources through direct measures like affordable childcare and more generally through greater government and community support for families.

Fatherhood and Men’s Involvement in Paid Work in Australia

Becoming a parent is an important transition in the life course, yet most research does not consider how becoming a father changes men’s lives. This chapter focuses on whether life events affect involvement in paid work for Australian men. Of central interest is whether becoming a father changes the hours men spend in employment, but other events that are considered include having additional children, getting married, completing education, changing supervisor or manager status, and buying a home. Most research that considers differences between fathers and non-fathers is cross-sectional and typically finds that fathers spend longer hours in employment than men who are not fathers. However, previous research is limited due to the potential effects of unobservable characteristics that are associated with both employment hours and the likelihood of becoming a father. Using four waves of data from the Negotiating the Life Course project, changes in men’s employment hours prior to and after the transition to fatherhood are examined using methods which account for unobservable characteristics. The findings demonstrate that there is an effect of becoming a father that increases employment hours for men. This increase in hours could be explained by ‘time-allocation’ theories, or by the process of men ‘doing gender’. There are also potential effects on father’s level of involvement in parenting as a result of increased employment hours.

Household work for men and women: Implications for future childrearing decisions

This paper explores the impact of childrearing on workforce involvement, workplace benefits and household work at different lifecourse stages. It uses respondent data from a national survey into the negotiation of work and family life. Results show that there is considerable difference in experiences of respondents in childrearing years in comparison to years before having children, and particularly in comparison to people who do not want children. In the context of the low levels of fertility experienced by other countries, the role of social institutional arrangements in Australia is discussed. Implications for policy highlight the need to support participatory fatherhood, together with equity and access policies.