The Effect of Family Status in the Fertility of Immigrant Women after Arrival. Profiles and Implications

The objective of this study is to analyze the factors that determine the birth of a first child after migrating, focusing particularly on the effects of the family situation at the time of arrival. Our hypothesis is that reproductive behavior following immigration is closely linked to whether a woman was already living as a couple and/or already had children before immigrating. The data for our analysis comes from the 2007 National Immigration Survey.
Results show, first of all, that the most important factor regarding the birth of a child after migration is the presence of children born before migrating. Secondly, marital status has an important effect on the likelihood of having this first child. Finally, the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of women when they arrive affect the likelihood of having their first child, according to each family situation.
Our principal finding is to show the great diversity of reproductive behavior in the immigrant population. The main implication is the foreseeable change in the contribution of the immigrant population to the fertility rate and the number of births as the new population settles in and the profile of immigrant women changes. This will result in a change in the contribution of the immigrant population regarding the deceleration of the aging process.