09/08/13
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ons.gov.uk%2Fons%2Frel%2Fvsob1%2Fparents--country-of-birth--england-and-wales%2F2010%2Ffaq-births-and-fertility.pdf&ei=heJVUtnKBMqx0QWa6IHwAg&usg=AFQjCNEsfss6g_5zpgyNnveIdE52YPT12A&sig2=v8hSsW_5YnAqBvVe0o-jIw&bvm=bv.53760139,d.d2k
The link above is to an Office of National Statistics document from August 2011. A frequently asked questions sheet it provides data on the delaying on conception from 1940 to 1975 a crucial time window that covers both time before the pill, limited distribution and widespread distribution.
- In England and Wales, the average age at first birth was around 24 during the 1960s, rising to 28 in 2009.
- Women who were born in 1940 (and at their peak of reproduction in the 1960s) had on average 2.36 children compared to those born in 1960 who had only 1.98 children.
- Those born in 1975 are projected to have 1.87 children on average.
- Only 11% of women born in 1940 had no children, compared with 19% of those born in 1960.
- Postponing childbearing has, since the mid-1970s, produced a decline in the total fertility rate.
The document was very useful as I could rely on the data presented as it came from a trustworthy source- the Office of National Statistics and it provided data covering more than 20 years before and after the Pill was invented providing opportunity to make a comparison.
