Age at First Birth and Later Life Health in Western and Eastern Europe

Many studies of contemporary societies have found links between early age at entry to parenthood and poorer health in later life in. However, most have focused on Western populations and few have been comparative. Both antecedents and consequences of early parenthood may be different in Eastern European countries, which have had a pattern of earlier motherhood and, during the Soviet era, family and employment policies that may have buffered disadvantages faced by young parents. We analyze retrospective life-course data from 11 European countries to analyze associations between early parenthood and health at ages 50-80 in groupings of Western and Eastern European countries. East West differences identified include a stronger association between early parenthood and divorce, high parity and lower occupational status, and a greater impact of these factors on health, in the Western European country group. There were fewer differences when a relative, rather than an absolute, indicator of early parenthood was used.