The rejuvenation of motherhood in Dagestan: trend or artefact? (preliminary results of a rural population survey)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the dynamics of the mean age at childbearing in Dagestan, an indicator which has differed significantly from the overall Russian trend within the last decade. The paper is based both on data from official sources and preliminary results from field research conducted by the authors in the rural areas of Dagestan. The data from both sources strongly support the idea of a decrease in the childbearing age in the republic, both for the mean age at childbearing (MAB) without parities and for the mean age at childbearing at first and second births. The existing literature highlights, inter alia, two main factors inhibiting the increase of the MAB usually expected with a decrease of the total fertility rate. The first factor is the important role of religion (mainly Islam) in the society, and the second is the “traditional” structure of the family. Our preliminary results lead us to the conclusion that the first factor is more important.