ABSTRACT

Postponement of first births is a key cause of declining fertility rates, especially in East Asia where recovery from delayed childbearing has been weak. This paper investigates achievement of ideal ages at marriage and first birth in Singapore using survey data on 657 married women aged 25–34. Almost 50 per cent marry within one year of their ideal age, but less than 30 per cent have their first child within six months of their ideal interval to first birth, with around 50 per cent waiting longer than ideal. The high proportion of women experiencing a longer-than-ideal first birth interval was observed across all age and educational groups. Regression results show that co-residence with a foreign domestic worker and paid leave entitlements are associated with higher probability of achieving their ideal first birth interval, whereas availability of parents/in-laws, husband’s help and unpaid leave do not reduce time to childbearing.

摘要

推迟生育第一胎是生育率下降的一个主要原因，尤其是在东亚地区，延迟生育的恢复一直很弱。本文使用对 657 名 25 至 34 岁已婚妇女的调查数据，调查了新加坡结婚和首次生育的​​理想年龄。近 50% 的人在理想年龄的一年内结婚，但不到 30% 的人在理想的第一次生育间隔六个月内生第一个孩子，大约 50% 的等待时间比理想时间长。在所有年龄和教育群体中都观察到，有很高比例的女性经历了比理想的第一次生育间隔更长的时间。回归结果表明，与外籍家庭佣工同住并享有带薪休假与实现理想的第一次生育间隔的可能性较高有关，