A contemporary issue in demography :the rising age at first birth, pros and cons

Abstract

Two decades after Aleš Hrdlička’s death the introduction of effective contraceptives broke the evolutionary link between sexuality and procreation. Since then we decide about having children or not, and if we want them we can also decide about their timing. As a consequence the number of children declined to numbers that fit modern life styles and the age at first birth has risen considerably. However having children remains a chance, every month again. For the majority having children goes without problems worth speaking of. But a minority risks the chance of remaining without children or with only one child as they started to try having children ‘too late’. This contribution overviews the backgrounds and the pros and cons of the rising age at first birth.