Open AccessThe regulation of fertility in pre-industrial populations: a local study from eighteenth century Finland
Author(s) -
Beatrice Moring
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
finnish yearbook of population research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1796-6191
pISSN - 1796-6183
DOI - 10.23979/fypr.44911
Subject(s) - fertility , demography , socioeconomic status , birth rate , geography , total fertility rate , population , historical demography , birth records , developed country , socioeconomics , research methodology , family planning , sociology , birth weight , biology , pregnancy , genetics
The crude birth rate in Finland in the eighteenth century was more than 40 per thousand. At the same time there was considerable regional diversity. This study of a coastal population in southwestern Finland reveals that the fertility was well below that of the country as a whole and as low or even lower that that recorded for neighboring countries. A more detailed study of families in Houtskiir indicates that the pattern of fertility varied according to the socioeconomic standing of the family head. Differences in age at first marriage were a critical determinant of these variations but other important factors were birth spacing and the timing of the last birth. A conscious attempt was made to limit family size.