Low fertility rates in most countries of the ECE region warrant deeper investigation into the circumstances of this trend. A general decline in fertility resulted from women’s increased participation in economic activities. Recently however, a further reduction in fertility rate seems to be the result of two different sets of factors: unfavourable social and economic conditions and higher levels of education with better career opportunities for women.

 Decisions concerning the number and spacing of children are also influenced by accessibility of child-care services and the existence of adequate family and social policies. Childbearing and parenthood continues to have a stronger impact on a woman’s lifecycle than on a man’s. This affects opportunities in education and career choice. A particularly vulnerable group is young, working mothers with young children.

 Where women experience motherhood at young ages, becoming pregnant also means losing important opportunities and undermining their personal growth and often putting them in situations of vulnerability to poverty and scarce control over their lives. In countries in the European Union, less than 4 per cent of all births are to women under age 20, but in CEE and the CIS, teen births generally make up a much larger proportion of the total. In the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, teen births are about 18 per cent of the total.

 Examples of policies in the region:
Iceland: act on maternity/paternity leave and parental leave
Sweden: policy on financial support for families with children