Baby Bust and Baby Boom: a Study of Family Size in a Group of University of Chicago Faculty Wives Born 1900-1934

Abstract

After over a century of declining birth rates, the fertility of American women rose during the baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s. The study group, of 60 University of Chicago faculty wives (30 of whom were born in the years 1900-1914 and the remaining 30 in the years 1920-1934) had a pattern of fertility similar to that of the U. S. population in general. Two models are proposed to account for the rise in fertility. Model I is based on Easterlin's hypothesis that postwar affluence, contrasted with remembered poverty during the Depression, made young couples feel able to afford large families. Model II is based on Ryder's finding of a high level of unintended fertility during the baby boom. The study was conducted by means of interviews. The findings support Model II. Case material is presented and possible reasons for the findings are discussed.

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