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Long-term effects of childbearing on mortality: Evidence from pre-industrial Sweden

Author

Summary, in English

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of childbearing history on later-life mortality for ever-married men and women using historical micro-level data of high quality for southern Sweden. The analysis uses a Cox proportional hazards model, estimating the effects on old-age mortality of number of births and timing of first and last births. By studying the effects of previous childbearing on mortality by sex and social status, we also gain important insights into the mechanisms relating childbearing to mortality in old age. The results show that number of children ever born had a statistically significant negative impact on longevity after age 50 for females but not for mates. Analysis by social group shows that only landless women experienced higher mortality from having more children, which seems to indicate that the main explanations are to be found in social or economic conditions specific to females, rather than in the strictly biological or physiological effects of childbearing.

Publishing year

2004

Language

English

Pages

297-310

Publication/Series

Population Studies

Volume

58

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Economic History

Keywords

  • mortality
  • reproductive history
  • childbearing
  • Sweden
  • social
  • differences
  • historical demography
  • life course
  • Cox proportional
  • reproductive health
  • hazards model

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1477-4747