Wealth and the Transition to Motherhood

Wealth, a significant dimension of inequality that captures both financial security and social position, shapes patterns of family formation. This study evaluates the role of wealth in the transition to motherhood. We argue that wealth is particularly relevant to when women become mothers, and whether their first birth is desired or undesired. Leveraging longitudinal panel data from the NLSY79 (n=2,382), we find that net worth is linked with a higher risk of a desired first birth and lower risk of an undesired first birth in the subsequent year. These countervailing effects are obscured when desired and undesired births are combined. Our study adds another important dimension to existing research by highlighting the distinct effects of both assets and debts, components of net worth that are typically obscured in aggregate measures. This analysis reveals that having financial assets, such as a savings account, are associated with a lower risk of undesired first birth in the next year, while unsecured consumer debts, such as credit cards, are associated with a lower risk of desired first births in the subsequent year. Our findings have important implications for social stratification in family formation given rising wealth inequality among families with children.