I wonder what percentage was fueled by a dual income household being forced to single income and realizing that they could handle it well enough - and the non-working spouse deciding to not bother returning to the workforce?
Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
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Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#12I wonder what percentage was fueled by a dual income household being forced to single income and realizing that they could handle it well enough - and the non-working spouse deciding to not bother returning to the workforce?
Perhaps explains increased wages and low unemployment too.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#13Super interesting from a psychological perspective, especially in contrast to predictions by economists that the opposite would happen. I think it shows bravery and optimism.
> especially in contrast to predictions by economists that the opposite would happen.
Economists don't have sex, that's why they are economists.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what respect?
Taking care of a child takes up your time, it's a job. Most babies spend a lot of time sleeping so you can probably get some work done, but if your child needs you you are going to have to drop what you're doing. There is no problem if you are honest about this and your employer accepts it, but just as somebody can hold multiple jobs and not come clean about it, it seems like a parent could also dissemble about it.
It's much more likely that putting "unreasonable" constraints on a work-from-home parent with small child would fall afoul of labour laws than someone working multiple jobs.
Also, Zoom has gotten surprisingly good - the "high" setting on background noise for "barking dogs" actually works frighteningly well - people on calls have apologized for their exploding dogs because the UPS guy assaulted the doorbell and we've heard absolutely nothing.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#15Not entirely surprising with so many couples suddenly at home all day, with any children at school.
I just hope they remembered to turn their cameras off.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#16The article says, "Much of that cohort was able to work from home, which gave parents more time and flexibility to deal with the life changes and demands that pregnancy and a new baby bring." I guess it's indelicate to say that when a man and woman are both stuck at home, more babies will be conceived. People who were unattached during the lockdown were probably less likely to find a mate, though.
> I guess it's indelicate to say that when a man and woman are both stuck at home, more babies will be conceived. It would be inaccurate to assume an increase in frequency of sex will lead to more babies, in the age of access to very effective birth control. Many (most I assume?) choose when to have or try to have children.
Roughly half of pregnancies in the US are unplanned, and with abortion and contraceptive access being removed or severely limited in many states, that situation is only going to get worse.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I guess it's indelicate to say that when a man and woman are both stuck at home, more babies will be conceived. It would be inaccurate to assume an increase in frequency of sex will lead to more babies, in the age of access to very effective birth control. Many (most I assume?) choose when to have or try to have children.
Roughly half of pregnancies in the US are unplanned, and with abortion and contraceptive access being removed or severely limited in many states, that situation is only going to get worse.
The only US source for data I could find was from 2011:
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/uninten...
> In 2008, women reported that more than half of all pregnancies (51%) were unintended. By 2011, the percentage of unintended pregnancies declined to 45%. That is an improvement, but some groups still tend to have higher rates of unintended pregnancy. For example, 75% of pregnancies were unintended among teens aged 15 to 19 years.
I imagine this has continued to trend downwards since 2011, especially amongst women who had the option of remote work (more educated, more lucrative careers, higher degree of financial freedom, less religious, etc).
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#18No post body was provided.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#19Not entirely surprising with so many couples suddenly at home all day, with any children at school.
Didn't that end up having the opposite effect where people were stuck with their partners all day and no longer wanted to have sex?
yes, but I have friends that were being stuck with their parents, so they decided during the pandemic that it was time for them to move with their partners instead.
Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what respect?
Taking care of a child takes up your time, it's a job. Most babies spend a lot of time sleeping so you can probably get some work done, but if your child needs you you are going to have to drop what you're doing. There is no problem if you are honest about this and your employer accepts it, but just as somebody can hold multiple jobs and not come clean about it, it seems like a parent could also dissemble about it.
It's hard for me to imagine this working past the first 6 months, if even that.