Reconceptualizing the nuptiality/fertility relationship in Canada in a new age

First comes love; then comes marriage; along comes Joanie with a baby carriage. This straightforward temporal sequence so long taken for granted in North America may no longer be valid. With marriage rates declining, birth rates at an historic low, births occurring outside legal marriage, and dramatic increases in single parenthood after marital dissolution, it may be that previous assumptions about marriage as a prerequisite for childbearing and about marriage preceding childbearing must be questioned. In this paper, an attempt is made to reconceptualize fertility to account for the emerging patterns in North America. Contributions of feminist sociological theory and of family sociology are explored for their capacities to enhance understanding of the nuptiality/fertility relationship.