Figure 1: percentage of young adults who have children from 1971 to 2001
A maternal age of 30-34 has the highest fertility of any age (Liu et al., 2011). As such, advanced maternal age becomes a problem since it increases health risks and complications during pregancy (Ibid). In addition, delayed parenthood also delays the life transitions of young adults, and shifts the timing of normative events, bringing psychological and healthcare issues later in life. However, an advanced maternal age has socioeconomic benefits for the family.
Causes
A few of most significant reasons cited for postponed parenthood are: the rise of effective contraception (resulting in fewer cases of unintended pregnancy), value changes (for example, young adults holding their career as having more worth than starting a family), gender equity (less pressure on women to pursue the “American Dream”), and economic worries. Advancement of reproduction technology and the less stigma have also contributed to increased popularity of postponed parenthood. It is linked to increased education & labour force participation (Statistics Canada, 2009). Of women with advanced maternal age, nearly 50% have a bachelor’s degree, 72% have an income over $50 000, and nearly 80% own their own homes (Gordon et al., 2012). In Canada, advanced maternal age correlates to income; it occurs more often in high-income areas, while lower-income areas have lower average ages (Cain, 2011).
Figure 2: darker areas indicate prevalence of advanced maternal age (34 and above)
Young adults are also choosing to get married later in life as well, which in turn postpones parenthood. 73% of men and 62.2 % of women aged 20-29 in the USA have never been married (Jayson et al., 2007).
Effects on the Parents
Postponed parenthood is beneficial as older parents have more “life experience and perspective, career and financial stability, and [emotional readiness] for having children” (Gordon et al., 2012). As such, older parents have a strong sense of commitment to their role as parents, and are unlikely to divorce or leave the family.
Mother
There are numerous risks involved with advanced maternal age, the most alarming being fertility and pregnancy issues, as well as genetic risks to the child after birth. Advanced maternal age means a greater likelihood of developing medical complications such as hypertension, pre-eclampsia, diabetes, and placenta previa (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2011). The Appendix outlines a risk of medical complications per age group. It is also significantly more difficult to have a natural pregnancy, at only a 5-10% chance for women age 40-44 (Gillis, 2012). In addition, it is difficult for parents to care for their children as they themselves age, particularly for women who usually take an active, nurturing role in their children’s lives.
However, the increased risk of health issues mean the parents take extra precautions when it comes to the children’s eating and exercising habits; children born out of postponed parenthood can receive better care and resources than other children. The upside of advanced maternal age is also that women have much more stable careers by then; for many women, the norm maternal age means interrupting the start of a career, with wage penalties in the long-term. The most common occupations held by mothers aged 40-44 with children under age 4 are physicians, dentists, veterinarians, judges, and lawyers (Gillis, 2012). This indicates that women who choose to have children later in life are doing so after a strong career track, and are then able to raise their children with more financial security.
Father
A paternal age of over 40 years is associated with an increased risk of “spontaneous abortion”, even when maternal age is controlled for, as well as an increased risk of Down Syndrome (Liu et al., 2011). An advanced paternal age affects the ability for conception, with 15% of couples with men over age 35 taking longer than a year to conceive, compared with only 8% for men under 35 (Howton, 2008). In addition, an advanced paternal age is associated with autosomal dominant genetic disorders such as Alport syndrome, achondroplasia, and neurofibromatosis (Ibid). Autism and schizophrenia is also associated with the children of older fathers, with a relative 1.6 risk of autism for children of men over age 40-44 (Ibid). Finally, there is an increased risk for bipolar disorder in adulthood for later-born children, with fathers 55 or older having a 35% higher chance than fathers age 20-25 (Howton, 2008).
Effects on the Children
Children to mothers over 40 have increased risk for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, gestational diabetes, premature delivery, and caesarean births (Gillis, 2012). In addition, there is a psychological stigma attached to having parents that look like they could be grandparents and may subsequently be less energetic, resulting in less “play” time. Their extended family may also be significantly older than they are, resulting in a lack of support and positive social development (Altenbernd, 2008). When these later-born children have children themselves, it is also very unlikely for them to have grandparents to care for their own children (Ibid). As a result, later-born children feel pressure to accelerate their own “timetable” to accommodate prescribed norms, such as marrying and having children earlier than wished (Ibid).
Application of Conceptual Frameworks
Functionalism
Postponed parenthood is supported by aspects of functionalism, as the parents of later-born children fulfill their duty to society through their careers, then have children to further this benefit to society. In addition, postponed parenthood may involve adoption of kids if the mother is infertile. Older parents would therefore fulfill several functions of society, and thus benefit society as a whole.
Feminism
A feminist perspective would strongly endorse the idea of postponed parenthood. Although there are many risks to advanced maternal age, it allows women to fully develop their careers before starting their family. Postponed parenthood also places far less pressure on women to leave their job to have children early in life and, in doing so, incur a long-term wage penalty. In addition, this means both individuals in a relationship can focus on their careers, then equally distribute the time for childbearing, rather an unequal load following “gender norms”.
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development
However, through Erik Erikson’s stages of development, postponed parenthood has many disadvantages. The initial stage of development, trust vs. mistrust, benefits from postponed parenthood as the parents have more time and financial security to bond with their child (Anderson, 2011). However, as noted earlier, the parents are not as energetic as other parents, and thus may not be able to fulfill the need for play and constant response. In stage four, industry vs. inferiority, the problems start to arise as the children need to establish strong relationships with their peers. This may be difficult due to the age gap of their parents, and as noted earlier their relatives will be noticeably older. Stage five with identity vs. role confusion is possibly the most troubling of stages for the later-born child.
By this adolescent stage, parents are at least in their mid-40s, and likely in their 50s. The identity of the child is in confusion as the parents grow older and need to be cared for; it becomes less simple for the solely the parents to care for the children, and not vice versa. The adolescents in this stage must learn to establish their own identity whilst being pushed into the role to care for their parents. As such, role confusion arises and carries negative consequences through the rest of the adolescent’s life. By stage six, intimacy vs. isolation, the parents are likely retired and needing constant medical care. At this point, the children are worrying about their parents’ health and may not be able to focus on intimate relationships. This isolation can lead to fear of commitment later in life.
Stage seven, generativity vs. stagnation, involves the children becoming parents themselves; however, with the issue of their own parents’ off-timing, they have either already had children out of pressure to give their parents grandchildren, or they have not engaged in an intimate relationship yet, and subsequently become “postponed parents” themselves. However, the parents of these later-born children might be at this stage when childbearing, and subsequently may have a better-defined sense of self at this stage (Altenbernd, 2008). Stage eight, integrity vs. despair, is likely unresolved in the lives of later-born children, as they have many unresolved conflicts earlier in life. As such, they will lack a sense of fulfillment and fear death.
Social Clock
The life-course perspective or social clock theory focuses on transitions made between social roles and timing of transitions (Ibid). There is a “normative social clock” that is made of socially-shared expectations about the timing of significant life events. Postponed parenthood affects the timing of later-born children’s adult development. For example, the relatively young children must be a caregiver to their parents much earlier than age norms. Subsequently, the middle-aged children will be mourning their parents’ deaths rather than focusing on their own life transitions, i.e. marriage, childbearing, work. This creates a negative intergenerational effect, as the children delay their own childbearing, and it becomes a cycle. All these “off-time” life transitions are stressful and create psychological conflict later in life. Children feel the need to be “ahead of schedule” to make up for their parents being “being schedule” (Ibid). As well, there becomes a sense of “adult orphanhood” in that later-born children understand they will live more of their lives without mothers and fathers (Ibid).
Social Exchange
While the role exchange of caregiver between the later-born child and parent may be stressful, the knowledge that the parent is well-cared for, the strong psychological bond due to this closeness, and the time spent with the parent is rewarding psychologically. Indeed, providing care to elderly parents is in itself an important adult development transition (Ibid).
Discussion and Interpretation
Out of all the information regarding postponed parenthood, it is clear that this is an occurrence in modern society that cannot be controlled. Postponed parenthood is often not a conscious choice, but one that occurs out of a busy work schedule, an “off-time” marriage, or other factors. In modern society, jobs are becoming more complicated, and as gender norms are subverted, postponed parenthood is almost an expected result. However, postponed parenthood being a modern issue is a problem in itself. Since it has only become a “common occurrence” recently, much of the data collected has limitations in that it is not complete. For example, the studies regarding the link of advanced paternal age to bipolar disorder is flawed because it occurs in adulthood, and many later-born children have not reached adulthood yet. As well, with Erik Erikson’s final two stages, there are not enough later-born children to make a conclusive study regarding the psychological well-being over their lifetime. The long-term, intergenerational effects are unknown, and must be studied.
A limitation involving the data is that it may appear that postponed parents and their children have more health problems simply because they are monitored more closely, or have more access to healthcare. On the other hand, younger parents may not have the finances to go to the hospital as often, and thus medical problems may go undetected. In addition, the infertility or pregnancy complications of women may be due to other genetic or environmental factors, but due to the nature of postponed parenthood, it is not possible to determine which is the case.
Conclusion
Postponed parenthood has implications for the psychological and physical well-being of the parents and children. This report sought out to determine the health risks to the mother, father, and child, as well as the social and psychological consequences to those individuals. Overall, the benefits are psychosocial, but only in the first few stages of Erik Erikson’s developmental theories, as parents have more resources to accommodate the children’s play. As well, the parents partly benefit as part of stage seven (generativity vs. stagnation) as their purpose during this time is childbearing, long after they have formed their identity. However, there are numerous medical disadvantages, and hardly any medical advantages to postponed parenthood. In addition, the role confusion present for adolescents in Erik Erikson’s theory is troubling; it is an issue that is inherent with advanced maternal age. Over time the medical disadvantages may lessen with advanced technology, but it is unlikely that the psychological problems will disappear.
Further study is recommended in terms of advanced paternal age (of which the research is limited), as well as later-born children in adulthood and further on. As well, case studies involving the lives of postponed parents, their later-born children, and their own children would be recommended to recognize the long-term effects of postponed parenthood.
Babies born by age of mother, 1999 and 2009
(BBC News, 2010)
Rates of Pregnancy Complications, Labour Complications and Interventions, by Maternal Age Group, Canada
data from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009
(Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2011)
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