Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Is women's emancipation still compatible with motherhood on Western societies? Egbgert R. te Velde -- Chapter 2: Males and females: the big little difference: Jan A.R.A.M. van Hooff -- Chapter 3: Sexual differentiation of the human brain and male/female behaviour: Dick F. Swaab -- Chapter 4: On the societal impact of mdern contraception: Dirk J. van de Kaa -- Chapter 5: The demography of the age at first birth: the close relationship between having children and postponement: Gijs Beets -- Chapter 6: The economic rationality of late parenthood: Joop Schippers -- Chapter 7: The complexity of parenthood in modern societies: Anneke van Doorne-Huiskes & Ingrid Doorten -- Chapter 8: The importance of children and families in welfare states: G¢sta Esping-Andersen -- Chapter 9: The post-career mom: reproductive technology and the promise of reproductive choice: Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim -- Chapter 10: On delayed fatherhood: the social and subjective 'logics' at work in men's lives (a UK study): Karen Henwood -- Fiona Shirani & Joanne Kellett -- Chapter 11: Women's lifestyle preferences in the 21st century: Catherine Hakim -- Chapter 12: The future of motherhood: conclusions and discussion -- Annex. List of authors.

iMost couples wish to have children, but when is the best time to have the first child and when is postponement justified? The answers vary from couple to couple and involve many factors including conflicting goals of the parents, housing, career paths, income, parental leave policies and child care arrangements. Nonetheless, the biological clock never stops ticking, and assisted reproductive technology cannot guarantee a successful outcome.   This book offers a holistic overview of the process of postponement and its background in modern Western societies both at the personal and societal levels. It includes contributions from reproductive, evolutionary biological and neurological sciences as well as from the fields of demography, economics, sociology and psychology. It argues that governments could support couples by a cafeteria-like set of arrangements from which one can compose a package according to personal preferences that can facilitate to a break in the rising age of first motherhood.