Trends in birth rate essay sociology work

There has been a slow decrease in the birth rates of Britain from 1901 to
2008 within this time period there had also been significant increases in
the birth rate at certain points the first been between 1921 and 1926 this
would have been because all the men returning from the first world war
and because there was no such thing as the contraceptive pill so there
was a major increase in the UK birth rate .That was followed later between
1945 and 1951 once again this was because of the British soldiers who
were now returning from the second world war the contraceptive pill was
not invented so again there was another increase in the birth rate. The
final increase of birth rate was not due to soldiers returning from war but
because of a major change in British culture, the swinging sixties, in the
sixties sex was becoming a lot more acceptable by the new young
generation and although there was now a contraceptive pill not many
people were using it because it was a new invention and there was many
mixed opinions about the pill. Along with the significant increases there
were also decreases straight after each of the major increases there were
steep decreases these were most likely because either the men had settle
back into living at home or had gone back to the army, navy or air force
this explains the first two decreases. The final decreases were because
people were now starting to take the contraceptive pill and were
becoming safer when it came to sexual intercourse.
There are many reasons for the long term decline in the UK birth rate
firstly the number of births depends on the fertility rate of women in
Britain which was decreasing because of two reasons .Firstly that there
was an increasing number of women who were not having children was of
factors such as they were dedicated to their job or simply didnt want to
have children. Another reason the fertility rate was declining was that
women were postponing when they had children mainly because they
were at or entering an important stage of work such as a promotion or just
too much work to cope with a child as well.
Along with a lower fertility rate there was a change in the position of
women which affected the birth rate because women were now starting to
be seen as more equal to men at work and therefore worked more.
Furthermore people were starting to change their attitudes towards
womens roles and family life. Women also had access to easier divorce
and access to abortion and contraception; this gave women more control
over their fertility and had a choice if they wanted a child or no longer
wanted a child.

Another thing that affected the birth rate was the decline in the infant
mortality rate meaning that more children were surviving after their first
birthdays and this means women dont normally have more children this is
because if the infant survives then the parents will look after them until
they grow up but if their child dies before its first birthday then women are
more likely to have multiple children after to replace the death of their
child. The UKs IMR began to fall because of many changes such as the
new better sanitation such as flushing toilets and better drinking water
along with better general hygiene and a lot better nutrition, including
mothers. There were also improved services for a mother and child such
as postnatal clinics. Two sociologists Brass and Kabir said that from their
research the idea of smaller families began in urban towns and cities with
the IMR remained quite high for a longer period of time and it did not start
within the countryside or rural areas where the IMR first began to fall.

Along with these points there was also an economic problem with having
children that was an economic liability because children could no longer
work because of the child labour ban and the raise of the school leaving
age so children remained dependant on their parents for longer along with
children not been able to work there was also a change in what children
expected from their parents In a material sense such as today children
expect the newest technology from their parents.
Finally there was change in society which was child centeredness. A
childs childhood is now socially constructed and that a childhood is now
considered a very important time for an individual. This change of child
centeredness had led to a change on how children are raised so that
parents have fewer children but spend more on the child they do have,
quality over quantity.
Even with all these factors changing/lowering the UK birth rate there was
an unexpected increase in the UK birth rate in 2012-2013. There were 3
main factors for this unexpected increase in the birth rate which was
firstly that women are now having children at a lot younger age than
traditionally acceptable meaning an increase in the fertility rate. Along
with the younger generation having children it is becoming increasingly
common for the older generation to have children as well these women
will have been postponing children until now when they are no longer
working or have settle into their work and are able to have time for
children now. And the final reason the birth rate as rose quickly is because
of the increasing amount of immigration into the UK and most other
countries will have different views on children possibly where families with

larger amounts of children are the social norm and have come to the UK
still with that norm they have been brought up with.