Abstract
This chapter looks at fertility intentions, and more especially the factors linked to their non-realization. In half of all cases, persons who reported intending to have a child, did not in fact have one in the six following years. In many cases, childbearing plans thus appear to be either vague or impossible to realize. Certain circumstances (such as separation) may oblige people to rethink their plans, delay them or abandon them altogether.
Plans are also redefined over the life course. In particular, age, conjugal status and number of children play a decisive role in realization of intentions. People who are young, in recently formed unions and childless tend to have a child later than planned, while those who are older and already parents of at least two children more often abandon their plans.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Goldstein et al. (2003) found that Austria and Germany were the exceptions in the European Union, with an ideal family size of 1.7 children on average, but this rate is still higher than the total fertility rate in those countries (1.3 children per woman). Similarly, Sobotka and Beaujouan (2014) have shown that the ideal number of children is close to 2 in Austria and Germany.
- 2.
To simplify presentation of the results, the study refers to individuals who are still “of reproductive age”
- 3.
Married or unmarried: conjugal statuses have changed considerably since the 1970s (Rault and Régnier-Loilier, 2012). Moreover, our study aggregates men and women here to give sufficient numbers (a stratified study by sex was conducted but did not reveal any differences).
- 4.
Ditto the sum of percentages from Monnier’s graph 1.1 (1987, p. 823): 46.1% of the women who had a child between 1974 and 1976 plus 26.7% of the women who did not have a child between 1974 and 1976 but who did have a child between 1976 and 1979.
- 5.
If the respondent was pregnant in 2005, the child was included in parity reached in 2005. The question on fertility intentions related to their future plans in addition to the child they were expecting.
- 6.
Representations of only children in France tend to be negative (only children are isolated, spoilt, etc.). Moreover, the short interval between births reflects various parental priorities (the children can play together, be friends, etc.) and their wish to devote a specific period of time to family formation and childrearing so that they can make other plans for later.
- 7.
This is the average interval observed between the respondent’s first and second births (children born between 2006 and 2011). Source: ERFI-GGS3, INED-INSEE, 2011.
- 8.
We do not consider students separately owing to high collinearity with age, nor unemployment in 2005 owing to the small number of cases in the scope of the study.
- 9.
The numbers observed were too small to record changes of intention between 2005 and 2008.
- 10.
Magali Mazuy (2009) has shown how important it is for both partners to be “ready together” before conceiving.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
Bongaarts J. (1998, May). Fertility and reproductive preferences in post-transitional societies. Paper presented at the Conference on Global Fertility Transition, Bellagio, Italy.
Daguet F. (2002). La fécondité en France au cours du XXe siècle. Insee Première, 873.
Debest, C. (2014). Le choix d’une vie sans enfant. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, coll. “Le sens social”.
Goldstein, J., Lutz, W., & Testa, M. R. (2003). The emergence of sub-replacement family size ideals in Europe. Population Research and Policy Review, 22(5–6), 479–496.
Grinblat, J. A. (2008). L’évolution de la fécondité dans le monde depuis 1965 et ses conséquences. Mondes en développement, 142(2), 13–22.
Hobcraft J., & Kiernan K. (1995). Becoming a parent in Europe. Paper presented at the EAPS Conference, Milan.
Iacovou, M., & Tavares, L. P. (2011). Yearning, learning, and conceding: Reasons men and women change their childbearing intentions. Population and Development Review, 37, 89–123.
Kapitány, B., & Spéder, Z. (2012). Realization, postponement or abandonment of childbearing intentions in four European countries. Population, English Edition, 67(4), 599–630.
Mazuy, M. (2009). Avoir un enfant: être prêts ensemble ? Revue des Sciences Sociales, 41, 30–41.
Mazuy M., Razafindratsima N., & De la Rochebrochard É. (2005). Déperdition dans l’enquête Intentions de fécondité, INED, Document de travail, 129.
Monnier, A. (1987). Projets de fécondité et fécondité effective. Une enquête longitudinale: 1974, 1976, 1979. Population, 42(6), 819–842.
Rault, W., & Régnier-Loilier, A. (2012). Relire Le choix du conjointcinquante ans après. In A. Girard, Le choix du conjoint (pp. 3–31). Paris: Armand Colin. Preface to the 2012 new edition.
Régnier-Loilier, A. (2007). Avoir des enfants en France. Désirs et réalités. Paris, Éditions de l’Ined, coll. “Les Cahiers”, 159.
Régnier-Loilier, A. (2011). La pratique contraceptive en France: prévalence, méthodes utilisées et implications. In L. Charton & J. J. Lévy (Eds.), La contraception (pp. 41–63). Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
Régnier-Loilier, A., & Leridon, H. (2007). After forty years of contraceptive freedom, why so many unplanned pregnancies in France?. In Four decades of legalized contraception in France: an unfinished revolution?. Population and Societies, 439.
Régnier-Loilier, A., & Perron, Z. (2014). The birth of the first child. In A. Régnier-Loilier (Ed.), The contemporary family in France. Partnership trajectories and domestic organization (pp. 69–86). Paris: Éditions de l’Ined/Springer, coll. “INED Population Studies”.
Régnier-Loilier, A., & Prioux, F. (2009). Comportements familiaux et pratique religieuse en France. In Régnier-Loilier A. (Ed.), Portraits de familles. L’enquête Étude des relations familiales et intergénérationnelles (pp. 397–423), Paris, Éditions de l’Ined, “Grandes Enquêtes”.
Régnier-Loilier, A., & Vignoli, D. (2011). Fertility intentions and obstacles to their realization in France and Italy. Population, English edition, 66(2), 360–390.
Rinesi, F. (2009). Fecondità attesa e realizzata delle madri italiane, PhD thesis, La Sapienza, University of Rome.
Sobotka, T., & Beaujouan, É. (2014). Two is best ? The persistence of a two-child family ideal in Europe. Population and Development Review, 40(3), 391–419.
Toulemon, L., & Testa, M. R. (2005). Fertility intentions and actual fertility: a complex relationship. Population et Sociétés, 415.
Westoff, C., & Ryder, N. (1977). The predictive validity of reproductive intentions. Demography, 14(4), 431–453.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Régnier-Loilier, A., Sebille, P. (2017). Non-realization of Fertility Intentions. In: Régnier-Loilier, A. (eds) A Longitudinal Approach to Family Trajectories in France. INED Population Studies, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56001-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56001-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56000-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56001-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)