Early Childbearing and Subsequent Fertility

Data from the National Survey of Family Growth which was conducted by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics in 1973-1974 were searched for the relationship between early childbearing and subsequent fertility. The data show that early age at 1st birth especially if the mother is a teenager correlates with more rapid and higher levels of subsequent fertility. Women who start their childbearing in their teen years tend to have more unwanted and out-of-wedlock births. This is true within racial educational and religious subgroups. Marital status at 1st birth had little effect on subsequent fertility. Previously observed fertility differences between blacks and whites are largely attributable to differences in age at 1st birth. Blacks in fact seem to have slowed the pace of their current childbearing perhaps due to the growth of federally subsidized family planning programs in recent years. There are still differences in subsequent fertility between Catholics and non-Catholics when age at 1st birth is controlled. Subsequent childbearing seems to have no relation to whether the 1st birth was considered wanted or unwanted. Education proves to be an important predictor of contraceptive use and success. The reasons for this are complex.