Introduction to Sociology (Seagull Tenth Edition)
Introduction to Sociology (Seagull Tenth Edition)
10th Edition
ISBN: 9780393265163
Author: Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Question
Book Icon
Chapter 19, Problem 1CC-P506
Summary Introduction

Introduction

Fertility is the measure of how many live-born children an average woman has in her culture. This is reported as birth rate. Fecundity is the number of children a woman is biologically capable of bearing. Fertility numbers are always lower than fecundity due to cultural factors. For example, a breastfeeding woman is temporarily infertile because menstruation stops.

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark

Explanation of Solution

Answer and explanation

Fertility is a way of expressing the birth rate, or how many children an average mother bears. The world birth rate was 19 per 1000 in 2015, but the United States birth rate was 12, and Italy's rate was 8 per 1000, reflecting a downward trend in developed nations. Less developed nations typically have higher birth rates, 40 per 1000 in Niger, for example. Fecundity refers to how many children a woman is capable of bearing over the course of her entire lifetime, from menarche to menopause. Technically, a woman could have a child every year from puberty until the cessation of their fertile years, but most do not for cultural reasons, or because women who are breastfeeding are infertile.

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Recommended textbooks for you
Text book image
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Pearson College Div
Text book image
Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780393639407
Author:Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Text book image
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis...
Sociology
ISBN:9781305503076
Author:Earl R. Babbie
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien...
Sociology
ISBN:9780134477596
Author:Saferstein, Richard
Publisher:PEARSON
Text book image
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134205571
Author:James M. Henslin
Publisher:PEARSON
Text book image
Society: The Basics (14th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134206325
Author:John J. Macionis
Publisher:PEARSON