The Educational Differentiation of African Birth Timing.

ABSTRACT: As educational access has expanded across Africa, birth timing has remained quite stable. Using data representing 51 birth years and 34 countries, we show that these modest aggregate changes mask more dramatic changes within educational groups. Over time, educational attainment has become an increasingly salient predictor of birth timing, as highly educated women have delayed first births and lengthened subsequent birth intervals more. The educational differentiation of birth timing also varies across contextual factors (educational access and family planning effort). In recent cohorts, women of all educational levels have experienced earlier first births in higher education contexts, suggesting that entry into motherhood is influenced by relative position within one's peer group. Aggregat

SUBMITTER: Frye M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11956804 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature