Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The concept of reproductive cues is used to reflect on our childbearing landscape. Originating in life history theory within evolutionary biology, the term captures environmental signals for when it is a good time to have and raise offspring – but also, crucially, when it appears to be a very bad idea. The article discusses how bodily, social, institutional and technological cues for childbearing shape the timing of parenthood today. I argue that the bodies and minds of young women have evolved to be attuned to the examples of their peers, the support available from their kin and community and the status and encouragement – or discouragement – provided by the broader environment. Many economic, technological and institutional incentives favour ever later childbearing, but are increasingly at odds with biological fertility, leading to lower birth rates and involuntary childlessness. The pop song “I think about it all the time” serves to illustrate the search for the right time for motherhood today.
DOI: 10.1553/p-m272-kafe
Author: Anna Rotkirch
Institution: Väestöliitto
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Strategic Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W7140308906
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