Study examines shifts in fertility rates among Generation X women

A new, Yale-led study examines shifts in fertility behaviors among Generation X women in the United States - those born between 1965-1982 - compared to their Baby Boomer counterparts, and explores whether the fertility of college-educated women is increasing more quickly across cohorts in Generation X than the fertility of their less educated counterparts. The study, published online in the journal Population Studies , used data from the National Survey of Family Growth to determine educational differentials in fertility levels and timing across four 5-year cohorts. The study shows that total fertility rates (TFRs) increased across all educational groups in Generation X women - with the greatest increase seen in college-educated women. Emma Zang , assistant professor in the Department of Sociology who authored the study, found that the increase in the fertility rates for college-educated women is primarily driven by a larger proportion of those with two children who go on to have a third child. This result suggests the emergence of a three-child norm among college-educated women. These findings also suggest that the increase in TFRs among college-educated women had little to do with changes in fertility timing. "College-educated women tend to postpone their first births, but space higher-order births closer together, whereas those without a college degree, who generally have an earlier first birth, allow more time between pregnancies.