Childbearing without a Partner in Spain: Growing Diversity in Pathways and Subsequent Trajectories

Clara Cortina Trilla , Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Alba Lanau, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Teresa Castro-Martin, CSIC

Unpartnered motherhood has traditionally been associated with social exclusion and vulnerability. However, the growing diversity in pathways to and experiences of single motherhood, along with subsequent partnership trajectories, suggests that this association is no longer clear-cut. This complexity is further amplified by international migration, which introduces new forms and meanings of unpartnered childbearing shaped by migration trajectories and reproductive norms. This paper examines socio-demographic differentials in the prevalence of unpartnered childbearing in Spain using data from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey. We analyze the roles of education and country of origin as predictors of unpartnered motherhood and subsequent partnering trajectories. Our findings show that 13.5% of births occur to unpartnered mothers, following a U-shaped age pattern –with higher prevalence at very young and very late maternal ages– and a pronounced educational gradient. Unpartnered motherhood is also more common among foreign-born mothers. Furthermore, results indicate that 60% of unpartnered mothers eventually form a partnership. The probability of subsequent partnering decreases with education for native mothers but increases for the foreign-born. Our results underscore sociodemographic diversification among unpartnered mothers, suggesting that the consequences of solo motherhood vary, potentially resulting in more or less disadvantage depending on life course stage, educational attainment, occupational status, birth intendedness, family support, and subsequent partnership trajectories.

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 Presented in Session 58. Single Parenthood and Complex Partnership Contexts