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Offspring sex preference in frontier America
The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
|April 26, 2012
Summary
Women born between 1850-1900 adjusted birth timing and spacing based on the sex of their children, showing a preference for sons. This behavior persisted across different fertility eras and religious groups.
Area of Science:
- Demographic History
- Fertility Studies
- Sociology of Reproduction
Background:
- Analysis of fertility histories from the Utah Population Database (UPDB) for women born 1850-1900.
- Investigates the influence of parity and sex composition of previous births on fertility decisions.
- Examines sub-populations including agricultural and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) households.
Observation:
- Women exhibited distinct preferences for male children.
- Birth-stopping occurred more frequently after the birth of a male child.
- Shorter birth intervals were observed in higher-parity births when previous children were predominantly female.
Findings:
- Both early natural fertility and later contraceptive eras show women using birth spacing for desired sex composition.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) population, despite high fertility, shared male-child preferences with the non-LDS population.
- Farmers prioritized the number of children over sex composition, likely due to family labor needs.
Implications:
- Fertility decisions are influenced by socio-cultural values regarding child sex, even in "natural fertility" settings.
- Reproductive strategies can be employed to achieve specific sex compositions within families.
- Understanding historical fertility patterns provides insights into the interplay of economic, social, and cultural factors on family size and composition.
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