Socio-psychological cost of childbearing in Serbia and political response

In: Zbornik Matice Srpske za društvene nauke: Proceedings for social sciences, Heft 167, S. 345-355

Abstract

Serbia is a part of the corpus of more than a half of world populations with
very low fertility. According to census from 2011, none of the generations
born between 1930 and 1962 in Serbia (without Kosovo and Metohija) gave
birth to more than two children. The share of childless women aged 30-34 has
been on rise, from 21.2% in census 2002 up to 30.3% in census 2011. These
women are most often single, living out of unions, with tertiary education,
economically active, employed, living in urban settings. Government of the
Republic of Serbia has adopted revised Birth Promotion Strategy by the end
of 2017 as the response to the problem of low fertility. It relies on the
previous Strategy from 2008, but it upgrades and further evolves the
document. This paper is aimed at short elaboration of the third goal of the
revised Strategy (decrease of the socio-psychological cost of childbearing).
Altogether with the second one (reconciliation of work and family), it
should create conditions in favour of diminishing enormous exploitation of
women/mothers? resources in parenthood and in household and thus alleviate
transition to further birth parities. Empirical base consists of different
sources of data, most prominent one being the last fieldwork carried out in
2017 by the Institute for Sociological Research, Faculty of Philosophy in
Belgrade: ?Culture of Childbearing - Reproductive and Partnership Strategies
of Women in Serbia today?. Results have demonstrated moderate patriarchal
statements among females in Serbia, altogether with quite strong patriarchal
practice in partnering and parenting. It is the persistence of the ideology
of ?intensive motherhood? and divided female/male performance in the
critical moment of ?early baby stage? and later on in the course of family
life in the context of low quality of everyday life and vast impoverishment
at the semiperiphery. Such ideology and reproductive behaviour are not
conducive to increased childbearing which is well documented in literature
and research. To the contrary, they lead to postponement and giving up
births eventually, especially of higher parities. As a political response we
recommend more active inclusion of males into parenthood, by, inter alia,
introducing of ?daddy quota? in Serbia. This short term and fully
compensated paternal leave is recommended to last two weeks. The measure
should be followed by vast social promotion of fatherhood, especially in
business, with employers, employees and other males.