An analysis of the birth intervals of married women in Jablonec nad Nisou from the 17th to 19th Century :a contribution to research on fertility patterns

Abstract

Analysis of birth intervals is a traditional part of historical demographic studies. However, these analyses are usually only simple and descriptive because of the high demands on data and labour such analysis requires. This study draws on a relatively large dataset including more than 2,000 families from Jablonec nad Nisou from the 17th to 19th centuries. Records on children were used in the analyses. The application of survival analysis and Cox regression revealed that marriage-birth intervals were significantly influenced by the large share of prenuptial conceptions. All three variables used in the study of birth-birth intervals (birth parity, age of the mother at marriage, and age of the mother at the birth of the child) proved to be significant. Unlike other studies of birth intervals in historical populations, in this paper the average birth-birth intervals were not longer for higher birth parity; however, the analysis did show that the age of the mother at the birth of the child is more significant for increasing birth-birth intervals. Some factors were left aside in this first analysis of birth intervals. These factors should be studied in future planned analyses.