Product Description In the past, many women had their children when they were young, whereas currently the trend is to have children later. This book provides insight into the changes in tempo and quantum of post-war fertility among birth cohorts in a number of European countries. It demonstrates how age and parity distributions have changed between successive cohorts and the effects of these changes on period fertility. How cohort life course patterns have changed varies between countries because of country-specific characteristics, opportunities and constraints. From the Back Cover In the past, many women had their children when they were young, whereas nowadays the trend is to have children at an older age. This book provides insight into the changes in tempo and quantum of post-war fertility among birth cohorts in a number of European countries. Based on an advanced demographic-analytic approach, it demonstrates how age and parity distributions have changed between successive cohorts and the effects of these changes on period fertility. How cohort life course patterns have changed varies between countries because of country-specific characteristics, opportunities and constraints. About the Author Willy Bosveld studied human geography. She commenced her research in 1990 at the University of Amsterdam, as a member of the Netherlands Graduate School of Research in Demography. Currently, she is a research fellow at the Amsterdam Study Centre for the Metropolitan Environment (AME) of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the University of Amsterdam.