Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860}}}1940 [Paperback]

A unique interpretation of falling fertility in Britain between 1860 and 1940, with new and surprising findings.This book examines the dramatic fall in family size which occurred in Britain between 1860 and 1940. It overturns current thinking by showing how much variety there was in the occupational patterns of falling fertility. There are entirely new and surprising findings: births were widely-spaced from early in marriage; and sexual abstinence by married couples was far more important than previously imagined. This study uniquely integrates the fields of demographic, feminist and labour with intellectual and political history, and will be of interest to all historians, and social and policy scientists.This book examines the dramatic fall in family size which occurred in Britain between 1860 and 1940. It overturns current thinking by showing how much variety there was in the occupational patterns of falling fertility. There are entirely new and surprising findings: births were widely-spaced from early in marriage; and sexual abstinence by married couples was far more important than previously imagined. This study uniquely integrates the fields of demographic, feminist and labour with intellectual and political history, and will be of interest to all historians, and social and policy scientists.This book examines the dramatic fall in family size that occurred in Britain between 1860 and 1940. It overturns current thinking by showing how much variety there was in the occupational patterns of falling fertility. There are entirely new and surprising findings: births were widely spaced from early in marriage; and sexual abstinence by married couples was far more important than previously imagined. This study uniquely integrates the fields of demographic, feminist and labor with intellectual and political history, and will be of interest to all historians, and social and policy scientists.Introduction; Part I. Historiographical Introduction: A Genealogy of Approaches: l#