Late Motherhood—a biographical decision?

Abstract

The transition to motherhood increasingly occurs later and later in life. Numerous speculations and several theoretical discussions exist as to the reasons why, but hardly any empirical findings. The authors want their study to contribute to the rectification of this research deficiency. In their empirical-biographical examination, Ingrid Herlyn and Dorothea Krüger pursue the question whether the first pregnancy later in life represents a new biographical model of family planning, or whether motherhood, now as ever, is recognized as a given norm, the realization of which merely takes place at a later date.