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One important demographic change that followed the fall of the communist regime in Romania has been the increase of non-marital childbearing. Throughout this article we want to see whether this behaviour is an expression of the second demographic transition and its forerunners are high educated women, or it is a pattern of disadvantage that characterises rather low educated persons. We conduct our analysis on Generations and Gender Survey data and we approach the topic from the life course perspective. The rich data that we use allow us to reconstruct the partnership and fertility histories of 6,001 women. We use the technique of event history analysis and investigate the influence of different background factors and personal characteristic on the transition to the first nonmarital birth. Our results indicate that childbearing outside marriage in Romania is rather a pattern of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before 1989, transition to adulthood in Romania was occurring at early ages, marriage was universal and fertility was above the replacement level. In 1990, the mean age of first marriage was 22.0, the mean age of the first birth was 22.4, the total fertility rate was 1.8, and the proportion of non-marital birth was 4%. After 1990, many sharp and rapid changes have taken place in the demographic behaviours: postponement of marriages, postponement of first birth, decline of total fertility rate. However, marriage postponement has not translated entirely into postponement of the first birth. The interval between marriage and the first birth has declined, because of the very high and rapid increase of the proportions of non-marital births. This increase is really surprising, for age of marriage and age of first birth are still very low. In 2000, the mean age of first marriage was 23.4, the mean age of first birth was 23.6, the total fertility rate was 1.3, and the proportion of non-marital birth was 25.5%. In order to underline variables associated with changing behaviours, we want to perform different analyses on the several steps of marital and reproductive behaviour (first sexual intercourse, use of contraception, type of union, marital and non-marital birth), using new survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1989, the socialist regime in Romania collapsed and the state's coercive pro-natalist policy ended. Since then, fertility has gone through major changes, namely, a massive reduction in fertility and important structural changes: birth postponement, an end to universal childbearing, and the emergence of non-marital births. Family formation has been postponed, but a pattern of early marriage still persists compared to other European countries. Although unmarried cohabitation is rising, it is rarely seen as an alternative to marriage. Modern contraceptive methods are being used increasingly, but traditional contraceptive methods continue to be widespread. Abortion, which was relegalized in 1989 and made available after two decades of prohibition, has been practiced extensively ever since, especially after first birth. Romanians in 2004 continue to have a universal preference for parenting. However, the preference for the two-child family has declined and the desire for a larger family has become the exception. The transformation of the socialist regime into a democratic society with a market economy generated a socio-economic crisis, and the majority of social benefits have therefore been oriented towards alleviating poverty. Other social policies, including those affecting the family, were redefined. However, fewer funds were made available than for those geared to promote economic development or reduce poverty and, as a consequence, their impact on childbearing has been small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]