Week 3
Tuesday, 12 October 2021 12:18 PM
Reproductive decisions / family negotiations - two child policy
Two-child policy - 2015
- Reasons
○ Increase low fertility rate
○ Deal with aging population
○ Imbalanced sex ratio
- Initial increase in births in 2016, then decrease in 2017
○ Couples hesitating to have a second child
§ Energy needed for childcare
§ Finances
§ Lack of childcare assistance
§ Career development and quality of life
- Population policies / fertility often governed by PCR before
- Since 1990s, reproductive subject to more scientific, investments
in time / money to raise successful children
○ Shift from enforced to voluntary due to money / time
pressure
○ Especially for urban
Reproductive designs
- Reproductive decisions affected by macro and micro level factors
- Vary not only across countries but also in personal contexts
- Having a child is seldom decision of mother but involves many
○ Gender-relationship process
§ Depends on couples power relations / negotiation
○ Grandparents
○ Relatives / friends etc
§ Influence through social mechanisms
- Intra-family negotiations
○ About considering everyone's opinion
- The decision is an ongoing / negotiated process between multiple
parties
○ Members with try to shape others reproductive
perspectives
Reproduction in a Chinese context
- Child birth thought of as a way to generate new family members
Tuesday, 12 October 2021 12:18 PM
Reproductive decisions / family negotiations - two child policy
Two-child policy - 2015
- Reasons
○ Increase low fertility rate
○ Deal with aging population
○ Imbalanced sex ratio
- Initial increase in births in 2016, then decrease in 2017
○ Couples hesitating to have a second child
§ Energy needed for childcare
§ Finances
§ Lack of childcare assistance
§ Career development and quality of life
- Population policies / fertility often governed by PCR before
- Since 1990s, reproductive subject to more scientific, investments
in time / money to raise successful children
○ Shift from enforced to voluntary due to money / time
pressure
○ Especially for urban
Reproductive designs
- Reproductive decisions affected by macro and micro level factors
- Vary not only across countries but also in personal contexts
- Having a child is seldom decision of mother but involves many
○ Gender-relationship process
§ Depends on couples power relations / negotiation
○ Grandparents
○ Relatives / friends etc
§ Influence through social mechanisms
- Intra-family negotiations
○ About considering everyone's opinion
- The decision is an ongoing / negotiated process between multiple
parties
○ Members with try to shape others reproductive
perspectives
Reproduction in a Chinese context
- Child birth thought of as a way to generate new family members
