Abstract
IT is not surprising, in view of the fundamental importance of population, that the declining birth-rate, which began in England in 1876 (in France much earlier), and has now become general in most civilised countries having accurate records, has been the subject of numerous studies. At first crude birth-rates stated per 1000 of the total population were regarded as sufficing for these studies. They did so when all that was desired was to show the effect of births on the increase in population. These birth-rates, however, failed to indicate the true fertility of the population. Child-bearing in women practically occurs only between the ages fifteen and forty-five: it varies greatly in married couples, according to the proportion of married women living at different ages within these thirty years of life, and according to the duration of marriage. The age of the father has been found, in actual experience, to have an almost negligible influence.
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Causes of Fluctuations in the Birth-Rate. Nature 108, 105–106 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/108105a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/108105a0