Australia's Declining Birth Rate
One great, recent and long-lasting concern for the nation ofAustralia is the precipitous decline in the Australian birth rate. TheAustralian birth rate is one of the lowest birth rates in the civilizedworld. Statistics have also shown that a growing number of Australian womenare postponing childbirth later and later. This is not only true ofteenage mothers but also young women in their twenties, whom aretraditionally at their most fertile biological 'peak' as well as moreeconomically and personally stable than teenagers. The most frequently cited reasons for the low Australian birth rate,an object of frequent debate in the nation, include the lack of availableaffordable childcare as well as the fact that more and more women arepursuing careers, eschewing motherhood until later in life, only thenfinding out that hey have problems with their fertility. Also, theproportion of the population aged 65, past childbearing age, has grownsteadily in Australia since 1975. (Australian Health Tren
Also, the higher rate of congenital abnormalities inbabies that are the children of older mother may create a self-fulfillingprophesy, creating a greater cultural fear of giving birth to such a child,and thus lowering the birthrate and raising the age of first childbirth allthe more. (Rolland, 2004) Many individuals, such as this one Italian Swiss man quoted by DavidRolland, see the falling birth rate in a positive light. This recent fall since the 1970's iseven greater than the fall that occurred with the introduction of the birthcontrol pill to the nation in the 1960's. And this way you cut almost 50 percentof the births. ds, 2001) Since 1976, the Australian birth rate has been sinking belowreplacement levels for the nation. Unlike the single factor of theintroduction of the birth control pill, the 1970's anti-teenage mothercampaign waged by the government, cutbacks in the health system regardingprenatal and day care, and social trends that de-emphasized motherhood haveall created a trend towards later childbirth and smaller families since1976. Switzerland is an extremely small nation although it is quitelinguistically diverse. (Hill, 2004)Swiss Birthrate The decline in the Swiss birthrate is difficult to blame on feminism,as Switzerland as a nation only legalized the vote for women during the1960's, later than almost any modern, European industrialized nation. That's impressive, no'" (Rolland, 2004) However, the Centerfor Global Development has used the Swiss model as a caution for otherinsular nations with falling birthrates such as Japan, stating thatSwitzerland's strict citizenship laws offer a poor model for Japan, andnote that Switzerland's birth rate has remained below its death rate. ] was the mostimportant demographic phenomenon for the region's success. The burgeoning wealth of the population, the lack of social statusaccorded to motherhood in general as well as early motherhood, and even theincreased rate of travel amongst young Australians have all been blamed forthis growing trend. "Cheda said hebelieves this natural birth control [Because so many young men were gonefor years at a time as a result of immigration, marriages were postponed,wives had fewer children, and the birthrate dipped. However, although it may not appear to be diverseto the world's eye, in fact, in its own eyes, Switzerland is extremely'clannish,' discouraging intermarriage between Italian, French, and GermanSwiss. This has encouraged many Swiss to leave their land if they wish tomarry those who are not Swiss, or to marry relatively late-or not at all-ifthey wish to stay within the conservative Swiss network of families.
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