Fertility Postponement between Social Context and Biological Reality: The Case of Serbia

Abstract

This paper reflects some views on the biological background of fertility tempo and its demographic consequences. Assumptions are tested on Serbian fertility data, based on deductive conclusions and by applying the demographic method. Due to decreasing odds for conception as well as for a live birth pregnancy outcome with a woman’s age, the changing of the age-pattern of fertility in Serbia has led to fewer births, and has revealed the negative influence of a dispersion of births outside of an optimal reproductive age on fertility rates. This article summarizes findings about social context of fertility postponement and age-related infertility in women and clarifies the biologically driven demographic consequences of childbirth postponement on the total number of births and total fertility rate.