Approaches to the Fertility Transition in Victorian England

Ri, Woods

doi:10.1080/0032472031000142806

Cited by 54 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…As Woods and Caldwell hypothesised, the most rapid and profound transformations in fertility occurred when cultural understandings of family life emerged that enabled couples to think – for the first time – about the limitation of births in contexts that were understood to be moral (Caldwell, 1999; Woods, 1987). These malleable models gained particular power in specific social and geographical contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parenthood, child-rearing and fertility in England, 1850–1914

Pooley¹

2013

The History of the Family

109

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Fertility declines across Europe and the Anglo-world have been explained as the result of reversals of intergenerational flows of wealth. According to this theory, the child was transformed from an economically-useful household asset to an emotionally-valued parental burden. This article is based on a comparative study of changing understandings of parenthood in three provincial English localities between 1850 and 1914. It works from the premise that in order to make sense of reproductive behaviour, it is essential to examine the meanings that men and women attached to childlessness, child-rearing and parenthood.It is argued that there was not a universal shift that made children into burdens. New understandings of the duties of parenthood did develop, but these were founded on class-, gender- and place-specific interpretations. These encouraged a minority of fathers and mothers to believe that together they had the capacity to improve the lives of their sons and daughters in pioneering ways. Given that husbands and wives had distinct motives for avoiding rearing many children and that the discussion of reproduction was shrouded in silence, the dissemination and use of new ideals of family was crucial in enabling birth control to be thought about respectably within marriage.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recent studies have emphasised the variety and complexity of reproductive behavioural change (Janssens, 2007a; Woods, 1987, pp. 309–311).…”

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confidence: 99%

Parenthood, child-rearing and fertility in England, 1850–1914

Pooley¹

2013

The History of the Family

109

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“…In the case of Mykonos, fertility declined very rapidly, independently of the decline in infant and childhood mortality and in the absence of any apparent major social and economic changes. Thus, it seems that it was an innovation in ideas (Woods 1987), a change in perception of the number of children that it was socially acceptable to produce.…”

Section: A Model Of Fertility Transitionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Adoption of Fertility Control on Mykonos, 1879-1959: Stopping, Spacing or Both?

Hionidou¹

1998

Population Studies

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This abstract examines the timing and means of the fertility transition on the Greek island of Mykonos in the period 1879 to 1959. By combining the results of family reconstitution with oral evidence, an unusual insight into the pathways of the fertility transition of this island population is offered. The paper concludes by outlining a model of the adoption of fertility control, a model which sees the transition from high to low fertility as a transition from spacing to stopping, and from innovation of methods to innovation of ideas.

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“…Countries undergoing fertility transition do have a relatively high level of female education, especially at the secondary level, and there are clear differentials by education, but the decline nevertheless seems to be spread across all educational groups. In this respect, the relationship between fertility and education in Africa seems to be analogous to that between fertility and occupation in nineteenth century England (Woods 1987). Given the emphasis laid on education, the prospects are not particularly good.…”

Section: Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development policy and the African demographic transition: Issues and questions

Lockwood

1995

J of Intl Development

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"This paper gives an overview of the recent demographic history of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, especially the start of a fertility decline. After discussing the evidence for a decline, and the nature of changes in fertility behaviour, the paper moves on to look at possible causes, in relation to development policy. Mortality, cultural structure, the status of women, education and economic crisis are all considered as candidates. The conclusion is reached that available evidence raises as many questions about the causes of fertility decline as it resolves, particularly in our understanding of the process of change. Finally, the potential consequences of falls in fertility and population growth slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa are considered."

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Approaches to the Fertility Transition in Victorian England

Cited by 54 publications

References 0 publications

Parenthood, child-rearing and fertility in England, 1850–1914

Parenthood, child-rearing and fertility in England, 1850–1914

The Adoption of Fertility Control on Mykonos, 1879-1959: Stopping, Spacing or Both?

Development policy and the African demographic transition: Issues and questions

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