Subsequent births in families of children with disabilities: using demographic data to examine parents' reproductive patterns.

The authors determined family reproductive patterns after the birth of a child with (vs. without) a disability. Using Tennessee birth records, the authors examined families of children with Down syndrome (N  =  1,123), spina bifida (N  =  368), and population group (N  =  734,189). Families of children with Down syndrome and with spina bifida were more likely to have subsequent children and larger family sizes than the population group. When a 1st-born target child was born, 28.8% of families had a 2nd child in the population group compared with 37.1% and 45.7% when the child had spina bifida or Down syndrome, respectively. Families of children with disabilities were more likely to have subsequent children regardless of maternal race, marital status, and educational level.