Parental Mental Health and Continued Childbearing
Abstract
The fertility decline observed in the Nordics, and in most Western countries, since around 2010 is widely recognized in research and public debate, yet the mechanisms behind it remain largely unclear. While a combination of explanations is probable, the mental health of (potential) mothers and fathers may play a part as an increasing number of people, especially women, purchase prescribed psychotropic medicines before the transition to parenthood. In this study, we investigate the extent to which parental mental health prior to childbirth is associated with mother’s continued childbearing. Using Finnish full-population data from 2000 to 2017 and survival analysis, we follow mothers after the first and second childbirths. We show that both mother’s and father’s poor mental health is associated with a considerably lower risk of transitioning to a subsequent childbirth, and in particular for second childbirths. In addition, parents’ poor mental health before childbirth is associated with a slight increase in interbirth intervals, by 1–3 months, between the first and second childbirths.
Authors
Anni Erlandsson, Tapio Räsänen
Additional Information
- Peer-Reviewed: no.
- Open Access: yes.
- Cite as: Erlandsson, A., & Räsänen, T. (2026). Parental mental health and continued childbearing (INVEST Working papers 152/2026, FLUX working papers 47/2026). https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/derw8_v1
