How Migration Affects the Timing of Childbearing: The Transition to a First Birth Among Polish Women in Britain

Abstract

Views differ on how migration affects the timing of childbearing. Whereas migration has long been considered a break in the life course, hindering family formation, this disruption hypothesis has recently been challenged. New findings indicating that there is often an acceleration of childbearing shortly after migration have led to the formulation of the interrelation hypothesis. Examining the childbearing behaviour of Polish women, this study extends previous research by combining information from the countries of origin and of destination. Using retrospective data from Poland (derived from the European Social Survey) and Britain (derived from the Labour Force Survey), discrete-time event history methods are applied to study the transition to a first birth in relation to the timing of migration. The results show that there is a disruption of childbearing prior to migration, as well as an acceleration of fertility in the years immediately following the move.

Marriage Migration Versus Family Reunification: How Does the Marriage and Migration History Affect the Timing of First and Second Childbirth Among Turkish Immigrants in Germany?

“…that fertility is particularly high immediately after migration. This link has been demonstrated for immigrants in the USA, France, Sweden, Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands (Alders 2000; Andersson 2004; Andersson and Scott 2005; Carter 2000; Choi 2014; Devolder and Bueno 2011; Lindstrom and Giorguli-Saucedo 2007; Lübke 2014; Singley and Landale 1998; Toulemon 2004). Studies on Spain and Italy showed that period fertility and first birth risks were particularly high shortly after arrival among women who migrated for family reasons (Mussino and Strozza 2012; Vila and Martìn 2007).…”

“…It is particularly difficult to distinguish the interrelation of childbirth and migration from selection effects (e.g. Lübke 2014; Milewski 2007). As noted by Lübke (2014), data on the country of origin are needed to disentangle selectivity issues.…”

“…Lübke 2014; Milewski 2007). As noted by Lübke (2014), data on the country of origin are needed to disentangle selectivity issues. Since no Turkish data were available, we focused on marital and migration histories.…”

“…Recent studies have shown the importance of the duration of stay in the host country. For example, birth intensities were found to be high during the time immediately following migration among several migrant groups in Europe and the USA (Carter 2000; Lübke 2014; Milewski 2007; Toulemon 2004). In addition, the age at migration and the reasons for migrating have been shown to have affected migrant fertility (Andersson 2004; Cygan-Rehm 2011; Milewski 2007; Mussino and Strozza 2012; Toulemon 2004).…”

Demographic Issues of Intra-European Migration: Destinations, Family and Settlement

“…However, intra-EU migration presents the unusual opportunity to study fertility change in the reverse direction, i.e. whether the process of convergence is also observed among migrants originating from very low fertility countries in Eastern or Southern Europe that move to a higher fertility country within Europe (Waller et al 2014;Lübke 2015 on Polish immigrants in the UK). This would allow for an assessment of whether and how changes in economic, social, cultural and policy environment result in different fertility norms and behaviour.…”