Reproduction ageing in Czechia in the European context.

The shift in fertility to higher ages over the last few decades represents one of the most distinctive features of reproductive behaviour in Czechia. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the process of fertility postponement in the European context and assessment of the Czech situation. While the fertility postponement is a universal trend in developed countries, significant differences are evident between European countries in terms of both the commencement and speed of postponement concerning the mean age of mothers at first birth. The article also discusses the main factors that influence the fertility postponement. While at the beginning of the 1990s Czech first-time mothers were among the youngest in the worlds developed countries, during the 1990s Czech women experienced one of the most rapid increases in the mean age of first birth. Nevertheless, in the European context Czechia continues to have slightly younger first-time mothers (28.2 years in 2016, 0.8 years younger than the EU average). It also appears that currently no direct correlation is evident with concern to the mean age of mothers at first birth and the total fertility rate.