This fact sheet explores attitudes in Sweden toward sexuality and childbirth from a historical perspective. After describing the strict social control over abortion and contraception in place 100 years ago, and the gradual easing of those controls in response to the low birth rate, the paper goes on to discuss the 1974 Abortion Act, which…

The belief that the birth of a first child has an effect on the parents' relationship is accepted in the literature, as well as in society at large. This study reviewed the research that explores the relationship between the transition to parenthood and marital adjustment during the transition. Most of the studies reviewed suffer to some degree…

A study examined the role of social support in the mother's adjustment to the birth of a child by drawing on data collected during interviews with 204 mothers when their infants were 1 and 6 months old. (This data was drawn from a longitudinal study of 1,300 children.) At each interview mothers completed questionnaires about their adjustment to…

This study examined the effect of a modification of nursing care on stressors associated with care procedures for low birth weight infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); and on infants' physiological, motor, and behavioral development. The nursing staff of an NICU received training to reduce environmental and procedural stress, support…

The State Parental Leave Study, which was conducted by the Families and Work Institute, covered the states of Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. It was found that: (1) Implementation of state leave legislation was easy for the vast majority of employers; (2) The majority of employers did not report substantial costs resulting from the…

Long term trends in non-Maori family formation, growth, and dissolution in New Zealand were investigated with data mainly derived from the statistical reports of government departments. Sources included census reports; vital, justice, medical, and migration statistics; life tables; and official yearbooks. To augment official statistical data, an…

Major demographic trends and consequences for higher education are examined. The Baby Boom sharply increased birth rates from 1946 to 1964 and was followed by a decline in births that lasted from 1964 to 1978. Currently there is an increased birth rate, but of much smaller size than the Baby Boom rates, due largely to the smaller size of the…

Tested four hypotheses. Two hypotheses were: (a) The levels of knowledge and adoption of family planning are positively related to the frequency of husband-wife communication regarding birth control; (b) interspouse communication increases with level of education. The findings indicate a marked absence of husband-wife communication. (Author)

Teen Outreach is a school-based teenage pregnancy prevention program designed to decrease the incidence of teenage pregnancy and to increase the number of at-risk teenagers who successfully complete their high school education. Begun in 1981 in St. Louis, Missouri, Teen Outreach was implemented as a national replication study in 1983. There are…

A health specialist working in a program providing health, social, and educational services to low-income children and families implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to increase inner-city mothers' knowledge of the importance of ongoing prenatal care throughout pregnancy and to improve the mothers' health. A prenatal…

Mississippi continues to lead the nation in excessive infant deaths, as shown by the 1984 infant mortality rate of 14.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. This report offers recommendations for actions that should be taken by various entities to rectify the problem. Recommendations are made in the areas of (1) public awareness of teen pregnancy…

Discussion focuses on Swedish population demographics, child-oriented political reforms, research on the declining birth rate, the provision of child health care centers for children, legally mandated parent education, the law against corporal punishment of children, and aspects of community child health and maternity health care services. The…

The relationship between changes in the timing and quantity of fertility, such as those that might result from an effective family planning program in developing countries, and changes in child and maternal mortality is examined. Results from five multivariate studies estimate the changes in mortality that might occur from altering maternal age,…

One of the main products of the Regional Workshop for the Development of Packages of Adequate Learning Requirements in Population is this prototype package of curricular materials on population education. The package emphasizes that population content should be treated as an integral part of the school curriculum rather than spread thinly among…

Teachers who feel discouraged have difficulty solving problems and finding alternatives to situations. Discouraged teachers need to develop an awareness of their own sources of encouragement, of the encouragement process itself, and of how to apply the encouragement process to themselves. A study of elementary school teachers revealed that…