The fertility rate in Korea is one of the lowest level among world, which stands 1.08 per woman in 2006. The decreasing rate is expected to have potential serious problems, so the government is putting various kinds of effort to increase fertility rat...
The fertility rate in Korea is one of the lowest level among world, which stands 1.08 per woman in 2006. The decreasing rate is expected to have potential serious problems, so the government is putting various kinds of effort to increase fertility rate.
However, most policies are criticized as ineffective because the understanding of women's childbirth is not based on a comprehensive approach, but myopic approach like economic factors.
Thus, this study aims to classify women's childbirth environment based on an ecological perspective and to enhance the understanding of women's childbirth by examining the impacts of those environments of women's childbirth intention and decision. Research about various factors influencing on childbirth of married women can provide basis for effective policies and services to solve low birthrate problem.
The data for this study were collected from 316 married women whose age was from 20 to early 40. They lived in the metropolitan area around Seoul. All respondents answered by self-report questionnaires. After exploratory investigation of 20 married women, preliminary investigation was performed from July to August, 2005, and investigation was performed from August to September, 2005.
Data were analyzed utilizing SPSS 12.0 program to calculate frequencies, percentile, mean and standard variation, Cronbach's , Crosstabs, Pearson's Correlation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Duncan's multiple range test, Multiple regression and Logistic regression.
The findings of this study are as follows.
First, the younger married women were and the less children they had, the more childbirth intention the women had. These resulted from a growing tendency to marry at an older age and generalization of bearing only a few kids by various factors such as extension of education and change of the values. However, the society should develop positive perception of childbirth lest married women should give up bearing because of late childbearing's prejudice or a small family trend.
Second, the result that married women had more childbirth intention when they recognized higher the level of household labor division is greatly noticeable. The policies regarding childbirth today are criticized because they are mostly concentrated on women. This result identifies that bearing children is responsibility of family and presents necessity of policies based on marital equality. Therefore, the government should make stronger policies as well as the public institutions such as the Healthy Family Support Centers should develop various programs and campaign to produce gender equality.
Third, the housewife had more childbirth intention than employed women. And the higher the level of job satisfaction married women felt, the more childbirth intention the women had. The job satisfaction of married women has a positive influence on role accomplishment in the family life. So, an arrangement of social system to improve job satisfaction will have an effect on childbirth positively.
Forth, when married women actually decided childbirth, they considered income, marital satisfaction above all things. The more income they earned, the higher the level of childbirth decision. It is shown that economic factor is significant variable, so society should support to decrease financial burden. Marital satisfaction was significant factor in childbirth decision like in childbirth intention. This result indicates a need for programs to cope with stress by children and to improve marital relationship.
The findings from this study show that various environmental factor have an effect on the married women's childbirth. This is exceedingly meaningful in that it tries to study the married women's childbirth on an ecological perspective comprehensively, not by one factor such as economic or demographic approach. An ecological perspective also contribute to make strategies to improve fertility. According to findings from this study, the significant ecological systems were organic system and microsystem. But mesosystem and macrosystem including nurturing circumstances, value and policy were not significant. It could be interpreted that nurturing services and fertility policies regarding childbirth were ineffectual until now.
Accordingly, the government should enact more realistic and powerful policies regarding childbirth. The social institution such as HFSC should implement more programs ie, equal-marital relations and family-oriented programs. Besides, the government would give more incentives for family-friendly corporations to encourage them. On the basis of this mutual cooperation of all members, the level of fertility rate could be increased.