Abstract In Italy, at least in the cohorts born up to beginning of twentieth century, women’s mortality post-reproductive ages was influenced by fertility, with large progenies (and, a lesser extent, childlessness) leading markedly lower survival chances. This relationship proved strong enough affect female-to-male ratio old age as fertility declined. this paper, we show that various measures e...

INTRODUCTION Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects many women of childbearing age, and rates of voluntary childlessness (VC) exceed those of the general population by far. The factors surrounding VC remain incompletely understood. METHODS Female members of the patient organisation Crohn's and Colitis UK aged 18-45 years were invited to complete an online questionnaire collecting data on de...

much of the world is pervaded by strong cultural beliefs that children increase the well-being of parents, and especially women, and these beliefs have bolstered norms about the desirability of having children. even though the taboo against childlessness has decreased in much of europe and north america, levels of childlessness have remained generally low. with few exceptions, however, research...

Germany is a low-fertility country with a rapidly ageing population, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. There are several reasons for this trend. Germany is among the countries with the highest rates of childlessness in the world, and childlessness has become widely accepted. This is illustrated by changes in living arrangements. A broad range of living arrangements has been added t...