ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Ireland is attracting attention from demographers because of the unexpected speed, scope and shape of its demographic transition. It is unexpectedly the last European Union member to become a multiethnic society. As a result, there is a distinctly postmodern aspect to women’s decision-making on childbearing, reflecting a diversity of needs and identities. This chapter deals with the rapidly changing background to these diversities and to the complex issues of women's decision-making on childbirth. The statutory body, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, charged with the task of reducing crisis pregnancies, has just commissioned work on women's decision-making, the results of which will come on stream in 2004. The chapter explains the impact of social change on women’s lives, change of the contexts of women’s decision-making on childbearing, and future challenges for women on childbearing.
