Getting married and having a child in Russia: an analysis of individual biographies basing on vital statistics data

Abstract

The paper regards an association between conception and official marriage registration in Russian women’s life course. Authors use 2010 vital statistics database on births for a set of regions to analyze marriage registration rates at different months of pregnancy or before it. The study reveals differences in the marital behavior in a state of pregnancy within age groups and also within regions. A registration of out-of-wedlock births basing on joint parent’s application as well as association between this type of conduct and parent’s age gain special attention within this paper.  Furthermore, authors examine dynamics of women’s family status during five years after the birth of the first child using 2010 Census data. Results of the study reveal that in Russia high popularity of legitimated births, i.e. marriages set after confirmed pregnancies, persists until now. Age structure of spouses in this type of families and its higher prevalence among first marriages prove this type of wedlock to be a marker of traditionalist demographic behavior. The same hypothesis is supported by the observed high break-up rate amidst recently married couples with young children.