Examine the Main Trends in Births and Deaths in the Uk Since the 1900

Examine the main trends in births and deaths in the UK since the 1900’s

Since the 1900’s there has been a general decrease in both the birth and death rates. However, there have been three baby booms where the birth rate has increased. These were after the two world wars, when servicemen had started families which they postponed, and during the 1960’s due to the economy being healthy and people being prosperous.

The total fertility rate has also been generally decreasing since the 1900’s. This is due to more women remaining childless and women having children at an older age, meaning they have less time to have children.

A reason for the fall in birth rate is the change in position of women. Women now have easier access to divorce, contraception and abortion. This means that women have more control over their fertility. Also there has been a change in attitude towards women’s role in the home, which gives women greater opportunities in education so they focus more on their careers and have children later on in life.

Another reason is that there has been a decline in the infant mortality rate. This is due to an overall better standard of living, such as: improved housing sanitation, better nutrition, hygiene, improved clinics and immunisation. However some theorists, such as Brass and Kabir, disagree that the drop in infant mortality rate contributes to the drop in birth rate.

Also children have become an economic liability, whereas they used to be an economic asset. This means that children have gone from making money for society to costing money. This is due to laws which have been introduced banning child labour, and increased expectations on how much parents should spend on their children.

One more reason for the fall in birth rate is that society has become much more child centred. This means that a person’s childhood is becoming seen as a special period in which children should be spoiled by parents. As a result, people are having fewer children so...