Reasons of postponement of births: comparison of Estonia and Finland

Mare Ainsaar, Tartu University
Pirjo Paajanen, The Population Research Institute, Helsinki

The aim of the study is to analyse reasons of postponement of births in two neighbouring countries - Estonia and Finland - in the end of 1990ies. Reasons of postponement of births are derived from two sociological surveys. Questions about the reasons of postponement of a wished child were asked only from those respondents who stated clearly that they would like to have more children, but they are not going to have them in near future. In both surveys several reasons of postponement were allowed to mark simultaneously. Behavioral and forced reasons were prevailing in both countries among reasons of postponement of births. However, in country comparison behavioral reasons were statistically more important in Finland than in Estonia. We did not find expected differences of importance of forced reasons in two countries. Partner related reasons were equally important and on the third position on the list of reasons in both countries.