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Press Release | Monday, 15 October 2012

The academy group releases its study of fertility and social development in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Joint press release by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Jacobs Foundation

The myths and legends about birth rates and fertility have been confronted with the facts now that the interdisciplinary academy group “A Future with Children – Fertility and Development of Society” has published its findings. As demographics have changed, the question of whether people will decide to have children in the future urgently arises – but scientists do not see the number of children as being of primary importance but rather the quality of life for both children and parents. That is the final conclusion of an informed analysis undertaken by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The Jacobs Foundation made this research project possible through a subsidy of 1.25 million euros. The scientists´ recommendations identify what changes need to be made in our society in order that parents and children will be content with their lot – both today and in the future.

Why do people decide to have children? And why is the desire for children not fulfilled by everyone? It is questions like these that the interdisciplinary academy group “A Future with Children – Fertility and Development of Society” systematically examined. In doing so they also dealt with the various myths that are circulating in the general public, among them:

  • “Lower birth rates are the result of increased female employment.”
  • “Women can easily become pregnant from forty through their mid-forties.”
  • “The quality of men’s sperm has deteriorated in the last decades.”

Such unverifiable propositions are dealt with in the now published report “A Future with Children – Fertility and Development of Society” by contrasting them with scientifically established facts. At the same time, the internationally renowned experts provide our social and political decision-makers with recommendations for securing and increasing the well-being of parents and children.

“While the risks and opportunities of aging and increased longevity have already been comprehensively addressed in academy reports, a corresponding scientific report on fertility development has until now been missing,” emphasised Prof. Dr. Günter Stock, spokesperson for the working group and President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The study “A Future with Children” fills that need by utilising an interdisciplinary perspective. “The special innovative strength of this study lies in its futuristic integration of facts and analyses from the demographic, medical-biological, social and behavioural sciences as well as from the realms of family and social policy,” observed Prof. Dr. Jörg Hacker, President of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

What does a family-friendly everyday life look like? How can the time spent on providing for the family, educating the children and working a job in the course of a life be combined in a new way? “A Future with Children”, with its innovative models for the politics of time, money and infrastructure, provides a real impetus, especially concerning work and how it can be transformed in order to shape the life of, and a life with, children in a more positive way. This includes, for example

  • to ensure family time in the form of a family time credit across the whole course of a life;
  • to grant a guaranteed child allowance that is transparent, unbureaucratic and reliable;
  •  to introduce family “mainstreaming”, i.e., base legal plans as well as public policy on the principle of promoting the well-being of parents and their children.

The academy group “A Future with Children” also focuses on medical and health policy recommendations. This includes fundamental measures for the education of children and adolescents as well as the counselling of couples regarding artificial insemination and prenatal diagnosis. A review of the laws concerning reproductive medicine is also included.

The academy group “A Future with Children – Fertility and Development of Society” is both international in composition and interdisciplinary in its practice. It focuses on four aspects:

  • The demographic analysis of fertility development (Headed by Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, Vienna, Austria)
  • The sociological principles of fertility (Headed by Martin Kohli, San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy)
  • The medical and biological aspects of fertility (Headed by Wolfgang Holzgreve, Bonn)
  • Fertility and family policy (Headed by Hans Bertram, Berlin)

“Without children our society has no future. But if we want to have a future that includes children, we have to begin now to improve the living situation of parents and children,” explained Dr. Johann Christian Jacobs, Chairman of the Jacobs Foundation. “Proposals as to how exactly we can accomplish this have been developed in the last three years by both academies under the auspices of the Jacobs Foundation. I hope that the academies´ recommendations will be quickly put into practical political action.”

The Working Group’s Publications:

  • Studie: G. Stock, H. Bertram, A. Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, W. Holzgreve, M. Kohli, U. M. Staudinger (Hg.): Zukunft mit Kindern, Fertilität und gesellschaftliche Entwicklung in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, campus Verlag 2012, kartoniert, 473 Seiten, div. Abbildungen und Tabellen, ISBN 9783593397535, € 29,90

To acquire review copies (German only), we kindly request that you contact the publisher directly at schulte@campus.de

  • Brochure: The Presidents of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (eds.): A Future with Children, Myths, Core Concepts and Recommendations on Fertility and the Development of Society. 76 pages, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-939818-29-8

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