A Third Child in the Family: Plans and Reality among Women with Various Levels of Education

Abstract

The article focuses on an analysis of the conditions & context surrounding the birth of a third child in the family, & especially on discovering the relationship between the likelihood of the birth of a third child & the level of attained education of the mother. The data in the analysis are drawn from the 'Family & Fertility Survey 1997,' as one of the few available data sources enabling a more complex study of this issue. The original sample of individual data was used in the analysis, which covers 1,735 women of reproductive age, between 15 & 44 years old. The first part of the paper is devoted to the relationship between the level of education of a woman & the planned number of children. A key section of the paper then focuses on an analysis of the factors that influence the likelihood of the birth of a third child, conducted using a regression model of relative risk (Cox's regression). Within the framework of observed indicators a woman's education proved itself to be the strongest predictor. A demonstrable influence on the likelihood of a third child in the family is also the fact of whether a woman practices a religious faith. The second part of the article focuses, on the one hand, on opinions about having a family & a professional career among women with various levels of education, &, on the other hand, on the broader issue of family policy, & especially its (possible?) connections with decisions concerning the number of children a woman has. The examples of Sweden & France are also presented within the analysis in the context of the discussion on family policy in the Czech Republic & its possible connections with the current process of reproductive behavior.