가족변화에 대응한 출산·육아 지원 방안 연구 - 출산의 고령화를 중심으로

Abstract

The present study focuses on one of the major familial changes that influence the childbirth and childrearing environment, the aging of birth giving mothers, and consequently suggest measures to support these families with childbirth and rearing. The research is based on the perspective that with supporting policies and governmental effort the decrease in childbirth rates will be less affected by late birthgiving practices. Literature on the current status of childbirth and rearing, the causes of late birthgiving, the current policies of childbirth and rearing were reviewed. In order to estimate the births and childrearing practices, work-family balance, and needs of families having their first child when the mother is 35 or older, 1,000 families with a child of age from 0 to 5 across the nation excluding Jeju Island were surveyed. Among them 300 families had mothers who had their first child at 35 or older. In-depth interviews were conducted to 15 families whose mother had their first child around 35. All the data were analyzed comprehensively. The main results are as follows. First, the main causes of late childbirth were late marriages and difficulty in conception. Secondly, mothers who had their first child at 35 or older did so because of their late marriage. Most of these subjects believed that the male partner must be employed and had higher standards for their first home, which may have led them to wait until they found a partner who had fulfilled their financial demands. Couples who had married later received less financial support from their parents for their wedding, which might explain the delay due to preparing for the wedding and housing expenses. Thirdly, approximately 8.7% of couples who have their first child later had problem in conception. Among these couples, a number of women quit their jobs due to this problem which makes this group especially vulnerable. Fourth, among the subjects who have been employed that experienced a career gap had so mostly during their pregnancies. However, late birth givers experienced career gaps before their conception, making difficulty in conception the main cause of a career gap. Also, the proportion of late birth giving families who had plans for more children were considerably lower. The main reasons for this was because of 'the old age of the parents (42.3%)' and 'the burden of the cost of childrearing (30.5%)'. Lastly, families of late birth givers had less labor force such as grand parents, which yielded to a higher usage of childcare centers/kindergartens. Because parents of new mothers above the age 35 were relatively older and had more health problems, the necessity to lessen the burden of childrearing on the grandparents has been raised. As a substitute, the demand for more regular and non-regular care from institutes and higher quality of care had become high. The present study suggests three basic courses: 1. the prevention of unvoluntary delay in childbirth, 2. support for multiple childbirths in late birth giving families, and 3. the supplement of the vulnerabilities of late childbirths. First, in order to prevent unvoluntary delay in childbirth, the expansion of subjects to the 'housing support service for newly wedded couples' to prevent late marriages, removal of the 'confirmation of legal registration of marriage' and 'females under 44 years of age' criteria when selecting subjects for pregnancy support service, and the inclusion of assisted reproductive technology in the health insurance were suggested. Furthermore, predicting a steady rise in the number of late birthgivers, education on reproduction and regular health screenings for elementary to college students was also proposed. Secondly, to supplement the lack of childcare resources when giving birth late, social childcare services such as the provision of increased numbers of centers and babysitters is required along with the expansion of policies that support paternal childcare.