Førstefødsler etter alder og utdanning i Storbritannia, Frankrike og Norge

Stadig senere førstefødsler har vært et tydelig trekk ved fruktbarhetsutviklingen i Europa og andre deler av verden de siste tiårene. Samtidig har ulikhetene i fødealder mellom angloamerikanske og europeiske land økt. I denne artikkelen studerer vi slike forskjeller i mer detalj ved å sammenligne alder ved første fødsel etter utdanningsnivå blant kvinner som er født på 1950- og 1960-tallet i Norge, Frankrike og Storbritannia. Resultatene viser at i Storbritannia var utviklingen mot stadig senere barnefødsler begrenset til kvinner som hadde utdanning på videregående skole nivå og høyere. I Norge og Frankrike derimot var utsettelsen mer generell og omfattet kvinner på alle utdanningsnivåer. For Norge og Frankrike har det også vært en økning i kvinners utdanningsnivå, slik at det ble flere i de gruppene som kjennetegnes ved senere barnefødsler

Førstefødsler etter alder og utdanning i Storbritannia, Frankrike og Norge

Stadig senere førstefødsler har vært et tydelig trekk ved fruktbarhetsutviklingen i Europa og andre deler av verden de siste tiårene. Samtidig har ulikhetene i fødealder mellom angloamerikanske og europeiske land økt. I denne artikkelen studerer vi slike forskjeller i mer detalj ved å sammenligne alder ved første fødsel etter utdanningsnivå blant kvinner som er født på 1950- og 1960-tallet i Norge, Frankrike og Storbritannia. Resultatene viser at i Storbritannia var utviklingen mot stadig senere barnefødsler begrenset til kvinner som hadde utdanning på videregående skole nivå og høyere. I Norge og Frankrike derimot var utsettelsen mer generell og omfattet kvinner på alle utdanningsnivåer. For Norge og Frankrike har det også vært en økning i kvinners utdanningsnivå, slik at det ble flere i de gruppene som kjennetegnes ved senere barnefødsler

Factors associated with female high-risk drinking in a rural and an urban South African site

Objective. To assess and compare the extent of high-risk drinking and factors associated with high-risk drinking in the adult female population of a rural and an urban region in South Africa. Design. Cross-sectional household survey using multistage sampling methods. Setting. A rural wine farming area of the Western Cape and an urban site in Gauteng. Subjects. Women of reproductive age (18 - 44 years). Outcome measures. The extent of risky alcohol consumption measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scale which categorises current drinkers into high- and low-risk drinkers. Results. Twenty-seven per cent (166/606) and 46% (188/412) of the women interviewed in Gauteng and the Western Cape respectively were current drinkers. In turn, 20% (33/166) of the Gauteng current drinkers and 68% (128/188) of the Western Cape current drinkers were classified as high-risk drinkers. Multivariate analysis indicated that employed people in Gauteng were less likely to be high-risk drinkers (odds ratio (OR) 0.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1 - 0.8). Living in a household that never/seldom went hungry was inversely associated with risky drinking for both sites (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1 - 0.9 for Gauteng and OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.3 - 1.2 for the Western Cape). Current smokers (Western Cape) (OR 7.6, 95% CI 3.1 - 18.9) and respondents with an alcohol problem in one or more family members (both sites) (OR 6.0, 95% CI 2.3 - 15.7 and OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.5 - 6.4) were more likely to be high-risk drinkers. Conclusions. High-risk drinking by women is a major problem, especially in the Western Cape. Targeted interventions are needed for women with alcohol problems in the family setting, lower socio-economic status, and concurrent substance abuse

Predictors of risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies among women in an urban and a rural area of South Africa

The study sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of being at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) among women of child-bearing age in an urban and rural location in South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey of 1018 women aged 18–44 years in one urban (n ¼ 606) and one rural (n ¼ 412) site. The women were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. We defined the primary dependent variable, being at risk of having an AEP, as current alcohol use, not being pregnant, being fertile, and no effective use of contraceptives. The independent variables included demographic, substance use, health perceptions, psycho-social, and partner characteristics. The rural women (21.84%) were more likely than their urban counterparts (11.22%) to be at risk of an AEP. In multiple logistic regression analyses, significant predictors of being in the ‘‘at risk’’ group for the urban women were (a) being ‘white’ as opposed to ‘black/African’, and being ‘coloured’ as opposed to ‘black/African’; and (b) current smoking. For the rural women, significant risk factors were (a) current smoking and (b) early onset of alcohol use. The significant protective factors were (a) education; (b) knowledge about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; (c) parity. Use of stricter alcohol use criteria (i.e., three or more drinks and five or more drinks per sitting) in the definition of risk of an AEP yielded slightly different patterns of significant predictors. The results revealed high levels of risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy, especially amongst the rural women, and a need for location-specific prevention programmes. The high burden of AEP in South Africa calls for the establishment of national AEP prevention strategies and programmes as a matter of urgency

Predictors of risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies among women in an urban and a rural area of South Africa

The study sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of being at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) among women of child-bearing age in an urban and rural location in South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey of 1018 women aged 18-44 years in one urban (n = 606) and one rural (n = 412) site. The women were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. We defined the primary dependent variable, being at risk of having an AEP, as current alcohol use, not being pregnant, being fertile, and no effective use of contraceptives. The independent variables included demographic, substance use, health perceptions, psycho-social, and partner characteristics. The rural women (21.84%) were more likely than their urban counterparts (11.22%) to be at risk of an AEP. In multiple logistic regression analyses, significant predictors of being in the "at risk" group for the urban women were (a) being 'white' as opposed to 'black/African', and being 'coloured' as opposed to 'black/African'; and (b) current smoking. For the rural women, significant risk factors were (a) current smoking and (b) early onset of alcohol use. The significant protective factors were (a) education; (b) knowledge about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; (c) parity. Use of stricter alcohol use criteria (i.e., three or more drinks and five or more drinks per sitting) in the definition of risk of an AEP yielded slightly different patterns of significant predictors. The results revealed high levels of risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy, especially amongst the rural women, and a need for location-specific prevention programmes. The high burden of AEP in South Africa calls for the establishment of national AEP prevention strategies and programmes as a matter of urgency.South Africa Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Alcohol-exposed pregnancy Alcohol consumption Contraception Women

Increasingly heterogeneous ages at first birth by education in Southern European and Anglo-American family-policy regimes: A seven-country comparison by birth cohort

According to the 'reproductive polarization' hypothesis, family-policy regimes unfavourable to the combination of employment with motherhood generate greater socio-economic differentials in fertility than other regimes. This hypothesis has been tested mainly for 'liberal' Anglo-American regimes. To investigate the effects elsewhere, we compared education differentials in age at first birth among native-born women of 1950s and 1960s birth cohorts in seven countries representing three regime types. Women with low educational attainment have continued to have first births early, not only in Britain and the USA but also in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Women at all other levels of education have experienced a shift towards later first births, a shift that has been largest in Southern Europe. Unlike the educationally heterogeneous changes in age pattern at first birth seen under the Southern European and Anglo-American family-policy regimes, the changes across birth cohorts in the study's two 'universalistic' countries, Norway and France, have been educationally homogeneous