Childlessness Up Among All Women; Down Among Women With Advanced Degrees

Nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years without having borne a child, compared with one-in-10 in the 1970s, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project.

While childlessness has risen for all racial and ethnic groups, and most education levels, it has fallen over the past decade for women with advanced degrees. In 2008, 24 percent of women ages 40-44 with a master's, doctoral or professional degree had not had children, a decline from 31 percent in 1994.

However, childlessness still is most common among highly educated women. In 2008, 24 percent of women ages 40-44 with a bachelor's degree had not had a child. By comparison, childless rates were lower among women with less than a high school diploma (15 percent), high school graduates (17 percent) and women with some college education (18 percent).

Among all women ages 40-44, the proportion that has never given birth, 18 percent in 2008, has grown by 80 percent since 1976, when it was 10 percent. There were 1.9 million childless women ages 40-44 in 2008, compared with nearly 580,000 in 1976.

One-in-five (20 percent) white women ages 40-44 was childless in 2008, the highest rate among racial and ethnic groups. By comparison, 17 percent of black and Hispanic women were childless in 2008, and 16 percent of Asian women were childless. Rates for Hispanic and black women have grown more than the childless rate of white women.

Among 40 - 44-year-old women currently married or married at some point in the past, 13 percent had no children of their own in 2008, a small increase from 11 percent in 1994. Among never-married women, 56 percent were childless in 2008, compared with 71 percent in 1994.

This report is based mainly on data from the June fertility supplement of the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. The main comparisons use combined data from 2006 and 2008 and from 1992 and 1994. Two years of data are combined for each time point so as to have adequate sample size for detailed analysis. The report is based on the standard measure of childlessness at the end of the childbearing years, which is the share of 40 - 44-year-old women who have not borne any children.

Comments

[Elizabeth Gregory]

09:22 PM on 07/01/2010

On the same topic, from another angle: Childlessness and Later Fertility
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-gregory/childlessness-and-late-fe_b_629959.html

[LordMoon]

10:34 AM on 06/30/2010

There's something very sad about this, and I believe, it's because our society has become anti human, anti life. What do we have to offer instead? A career? Don't kid yourself, a career can never take the place of a family or having someone to love, no matter how much you try and rationalize it.

[Lady Themis]

10:47 AM on 06/30/2010

LordMoon:

You ask, "What do we have to offer instead?" This trivializes women. Women are more than just incubators and can achieve great things in every area of life, not just in child rearing. Furthermore, a family does not require children in order to constitute a family unit. It's tragic when women are only valued for their reproductive abilities and not for who they are as people. Not only is it tragic, but potentially dangerous for the society wherein this belief is held.

[DSevere]

12:26 PM on 06/30/2010

Who says that people who don't have children don't have someone to love? I have a husband I've had an awesome relationship with for more than a decade, relatives, friends, business associates I'm close to, and three adorable and loving dogs. And I have creative work that I truly, truly love, that makes me happy and fulfilled.

[lauracarroll]

07:20 PM on 06/29/2010

Author of Families of Two here...I have been waiting for these 2008 numbers to come out. While we know that childlessness is up, the census still does not track the choice factor. How many women got to 40-44 because they did not want children, or really did want them but did not have them for other reasons, e.g., no partner, etc.? This would be great information. The National Survey on Family Growth tracks voluntary childlessness but only for the wide age range of 15-40. We'd know so much more if they broke out the age ranges. In any case, the rising numbers do say that with more education comes the knowledge that parenthood is One choice amongst many ways to live one's life. ~Laura http://lauracarroll.com

[Lucille]

06:29 PM on 06/28/2010

Listen, don’t hate but having children is highly overrated, particularly if you don’t have the financial means to give them, at the very least, an excellent education.

Women have been forced and tricked for centuries into marrying and procreating. Brainwashed into believe that this is what they were born to do. Frankly, I believe that theory is still being perpetrated against women especially from the Republican Party.

Birth rates are down all over the world, and I’m particularly happy to read that U.S. women are wising up too and not being suckered into giving birth, and pursuing their own happiness.

[Brooklyn73]

02:04 PM on 06/28/2010

....and while we're on the subject, stop asking moms of only children when they are going to have another one because heaven forbid a child grow up without a sibling.

[Lady Themis]

01:39 PM on 06/28/2010

With all of the rights and choices we enjoy, valiantly fought for & secured by the great women and supporters of old, we would be better served by recognizing & respecting ALL choices that we are now afforded. In doing so, comes great responsibility, respect, and tolerance for others who have differing opinions or life decisions. When we engage in dissention and derision of the personal, life altering decisions of others, we collectively do ourselves a disservice. We live in a time when children are not a requirement or necessity for familial survival. We do not have child mortality rates that almost mandated women to bear 10 children in hopes of 3 surviving to adulthood. To assume that children are a universal necessity or requirement for all women is a flawed notion from its very inception. We now have the opportunity to opt to have children for the enjoyment that children can bring. This choice alone can propagate stronger families because it is a family by choice, not by force. By the same token, women now have the opportunity to decline to have children, for the fulfillment that other life pursuits can bring. This choice has allowed women to make amazing contributions, advancements, and further erode the glass ceiling which has restricted so many. In these days, with all that women have, it is important to recognize that there is merit in each choice, neither one having more value than the other, and to embrace each other as equals.

[DSevere]

01:56 PM on 06/28/2010

Nicely put. Fanned,

[Blixa]

04:04 PM on 06/27/2010

It's a moral imperative to only have children if you really want them, can provide health, financial security and stability, and constant loving attention. Recognizing that one was not meant to be a parent is in fact a loving act.

[VanTroi]

11:15 AM on 06/27/2010

Motherhood is one of the greatest experiences a woman can have. A person without children can't say it isn't because they will never know.

[NYC-CatLover]

11:23 AM on 06/27/2010

Huh? What can't I say? And what does it matter that "motherhood is one of the greatest experiences a woman can have?"

[DSevere]

01:22 PM on 06/27/2010

Which part is the great experience? The weight gain, vomiting and labor pains of the actual pregnancy?

Or the part where your career that you've worked for and love passionately, that you've given your heart and soul to, that's been your dream your entire life, gets relegated to a less important spot in life, or given up entirely?

Or the part where you don't have time for romantic adventures, not to mention regular sex, with your husband?

Or the part where there is societal pressure to change your lifestyle and appearance so you can seem to be "a good mother"?

Or the part where you're forced to watch idiotic G-rated crap on TV and movies because you don't have time to see anything intelligent and R-rated any more?

Or, in my case, the part where you have far less time for rescuing dogs, which is one of the best and most meaningful things I do in life?

I could go on and think of a dozen more reasons why I never want to have children, but I won't. I hope everybody gets the point. Please do not assume your choices in life are the best ones for everybody, ok? I have never wanted children, not for one minute of my life, and I'd probably be a horrible mother and produce kids who'd have to be in therapy for years. Why would you possibly think that's a good thing?

[VanTroi]

09:30 PM on 06/27/2010

Oh please do not ever have children! You sound like an extremely self centered shallow excuse for a human. Tie your tubes now to protect any possibility of bringing a child into the world who would have you as a mother, oh the horror!!!
I have plenty of time to do the things I enjoy and raise a child. I never changed my appearance, I'm still a hottie and fashionable. I have time to date and enjoy a personal life.
Oh well sounds like you assume way too much. Ta ta!

[NYC-CatLover]

08:45 AM on 06/27/2010

I don't like the term "childless", it implies that something is missing or has been lost from a person's life. I prefer to say "I don't have children" when people ask, and being 31 and married I get asked a LOT. The truth is that I simply never had any desire/drive/compelling need to have children, so I've always used contraception. I'm currently going to nursing school and I'll be 32 when I graduate, so given that I'll need to work and build a career as a nurse during my early/mid-30's I don't have time to have children even if I wanted to. I'm perfectly fine with this (although other people find it hard to believe), I feel very fulfilled because there is no shortage of patients who need me to care for them.

[PowerPridePinstripes]

11:42 PM on 06/26/2010

Not a big fan of being a mother - and part of it is due to the annoying realization that "Moms" (ugh - I really am disliking that word) today believe they invented motherhood. And they throw around the word "Mom" and the "I'm a Mom"... and the "All I want to be is a Mom"... ugh - just drives me mad. And then in the stores you have these "moms" who don't even PARENT - there's a huge difference between being a "mom" and then proper parenting. I don't foresee me sitting around with other "moms" talking about "mom" stuff... ugh. Makes my skin crawl.

[Brooklyn73]

01:59 PM on 06/28/2010

I think you're reading it way too much and taking it too personally.

[Lucille]

06:17 PM on 06/28/2010

To PowerPridePinstripes,

I agree with you completely. Personally I because nauseous being around they type of "mom" you described.

[SoAppropos]

08:32 PM on 06/26/2010

I am 41. I thought I would have children, just assumed it would be because that's what women do. Then, when I was married, I could see within one year that I didn't want to raise children with my husband. We were both theatre artists and he couldn't understand that one of us would have to essentially let go of our dream to a large extent. He thought we could all do it all. So we divorced. Now he's remarried and has two boys and no career. Meanwhile, I have never found a man I wanted to procreate with nor have I had any intense desire to have a child, although I do appreciate kids and enjoy directing them in plays. I feel completely fulfilled within my life. I do admire intelligent women who choose to have children and raise them well and thoughtfully. Unfortunately, I see few of that type of mother. I am glad that many of my friends who are smart, savvy and well-educated are having children. God knows we need to dilute the ignoramuses out there with some intelligence and thoughtful child-rearing.

[skippyB]

09:21 PM on 06/27/2010

Here, here. And lucky children they are - the ones you direct, and the ones whose moms gave thought to having them and responsibly and joyfully raise them.

[SoAppropos]

08:01 AM on 06/28/2010

I feel lucky to be able to work with the kids. Theatre can teach them things that sports really don't. It's such a joy to see how proud they are of their show when they've worked that hard. Kids are amazing artists. Once I can cut thru what they've been allowed to think of as "acting," they are amazing and their pride in achievement is so cool.

[SoAppropos]

08:06 PM on 06/26/2010

The scary thing is, it's the uneducated and ignorant among us who are procreating. I shudder to think what this world is going to be when I am old.

[VanTroi]

02:19 AM on 06/27/2010

I'm educated, far from ignorant, and the mother of two.

[SoAppropos]

09:08 AM on 06/27/2010

Good! You're one of the ones that can help to dilute the ignorant, non-thinking ones. By no means did I mean to suggest that everyone who has kids is ignorant. I am sure it's my location to some extent but many intelligent people I know choose not to have kids (but not all of course) and then you see all these uneducated folks with huge families...and it's not a sin to be uneducated but the combination of uneducated AND ignorant is the scary part.

[erinwithane]

10:43 AM on 06/30/2010

Junior college or Devry University

[Bethab]

08:26 PM on 06/25/2010

Please don't say "childless". That implies that there is something missing. As a woman with a graduate degree...I can promise you that many of us are "childfree" and have CHOSEN not to have children. We are not missing anything!

[NevaforLeadership]

08:23 AM on 06/26/2010

I've made some bad decisions in my life, but one of the best decisions I ever made was not to have any children.

Very happy to be childfree.

[Joan1111]

11:14 AM on 06/26/2010

You took the words right out of my mouth. Choosing not to have children was the right decision for me ... and my husband. We are very happy with our choice. We have 21 nieces and nephews that we can visit if we feel the need for a "kid fix". But to be honest, it doesn't happen very often.

[DSevere]

03:41 AM on 06/27/2010

Thank you! My husband and I decided a long time ago (we're together more than 10 years) that we didn't want to have human children, and instead would put that energy into our production company and into rescuing dogs (our "kids," whom we love very much.) Being childfree is a decision that both of us are 100% happy about.

[littlepuffycloud]

11:50 AM on 06/25/2010

My 32 yr-old daughter has been trying to get pregnant for 3 years, she had a misscarriage one year ago and found out 6 months ago she has a birth defect called Unicornuate uterus. All the tests and hormones are outrageously expensive, luckily she has been 'thrifty' all her life and has a good savings to fall back on. Anyone going through this knows nothing is more difficult than finding out the possibility of never being able to conceive or make it through a full term pregnancy. Not every woman who is childless is that way by choice.

[Milash]

03:56 PM on 06/25/2010

Is she considering alternatives at this point?

[littlepuffycloud]

04:30 PM on 06/25/2010

They are considering everything..I've even thought of being a surrogate for her.

[amymari]

04:17 PM on 06/25/2010

"Not every woman who is childless is that way by choice."

Some are, some are not. I know two couples - who are good friends - who have been going through the tests and fertility treatments for a 2-3 yrs. One couple has decided not to pursue fertility treatments anymore and may be considering adoption. It's hard to watch them deal with all the disappoinments. You can tell they really want a child.

Some of us do not really want a child. For myself, I have absolutely no interest or desire whatsoever in spending any money on any kind of fertility treatment. I just don't have any kind of baby feeling or whatever it is that compels one to have a child. I don't hear any clocks ticking. There is a lot I want to do in my life that I just cannot imagine having to deal with a child too. I also find the concept of pregnancy to be, disgusting. So doing all the fertility stuff is just not for me at all.

[littlepuffycloud]

04:34 PM on 06/25/2010

Just curious, but what is your age? Your last 2 sentences are confusing..you find the concept of pregnancy disgusting, yet the fertility stuff is not for you. Are you on birth control or do you think you may be infertile? I applaud any woman who knows she doesn't want to have a child and has the courage of her convictions to not be 'talked into it'.

[curiousasheck]

10:49 AM on 06/25/2010

Population control is an appropriate choice at this juncture.

[RhiannonRings]

07:52 PM on 06/25/2010

Heck yeah!

[NevaforLeadership]

08:32 AM on 06/26/2010

Great comment. Name the societal problem, and you can most likely directly or indirectly trace it back to overpopulation.

It is the responsiblity of each and every one of us to have no more than two children in a lifetime, no matter how many marriages. Those who don't live up to that responsibility become entangled in environmental damage and diminish all credibility in complaining about global warming or any other environmental destruction.