Birth Rates and Demographic Policy in Ukraine During the 1950s – 1980s

The second half of the 20th century witnessed major transformations in the demographic structure, including fertility dynamics, which also affected the Ukrainian region, from a short-term rise – the so-called «compensatory» fertility growth – in the early postwar years to a steady decline during the 1950s and 1980s. These trends reflected a complex interplay of social, cultural, economic, and political changes. Rapid urbanization processes, growth in female employment and education, gender imbalance in the population structure against the backdrop of economic instability, housing shortages, low contraceptive culture, and record abortion rates contributed to the intense decline in fertility during this period. Although motherhood as a social institution was always in the center of attention of official ideology and family policy, which was characterized by a high level of pronatalism and paternalism, attempts to regulate these processes by the state proved to be unsuccessful. The article mainly uses statistical data to examine the major trends in the fertility structure in the period from 1950 to 1989, analyzing fertility rates in different age groups of women and overall fertility rates in Ukraine during these decades. The main factors of fertility decline and the peculiarities of the dynamics of this process are considered. The article traces the changes in the reproductive behavior of women of different generations, including the trend toward younger motherhood, early cessation of childbearing, and the tendency to establish a small family model in the postwar generations. The impact and significance of the re-legalization of abortion in 1955 on the demographic situation is analyzed. The research shows how the state responded to disappointing demographic trends, characterizes the main directions of Soviet family policy, and reveals the role of state initiatives and social programs designed to encourage motherhood and stimulate fertility.