7 Young Adulthood 183
forms—physical appearance and internal changes to her self-image. Writing
about leaving the world of prostitution, Nicole experienced a heightened
sense of shame as she encountered narratives created by the criminal justice
system with its construct of prostitution as illegal, immoral, and offensive.
Work, whether legal or illicit, tends to be a defining aspect of identity and
worth, particularly in young adulthood. When work is lost, even when it is
work one wishes to leave, identity is destabilized by the loss and must be
renegotiated.
Delaying Decisions About Childbearing
In contrast to earlier cohorts of young couples, the majority of young adults
in the last 25 years do not believe that having children is the main reason for
getting married (Newman & Newman, 2006). Couples continue to embrace
the value of parenting, but more see it as a choice rather than an obligation.
Delaying parenthood until the late 20s to mid-30s, or even the 40s, has become
a trend among young adults. “From 1970 to 2006, the proportion of first births
to women aged 35 years and over increased nearly 8 times. In 2006, about 1 out
of 12 births were to women aged 35 years and over compared with 1 out of 100
in 1970.... In 2006 only 21% of first births were to mothers under age 20, down
from 36% in 1970” (Matthews & Hamilton, 2009, p. 2).
Women’s fertility rates decline after age 30 and miscarriages increase by
age 40 (www.Resolve.org) and having a successful pregnancy becomes more
difficult. Although reproductive technologies promoting conception have
become increasingly successful, it is still difficult for women to conceive in
older age. In fact, the rate of successful natural fertilization via regular sexual
intercourse for a year is about 75% for a 30-year-old woman and only 44% for
a 40-year-old woman (Leridon, 2004). Thus, delaying parenthood can result in
infertility.
Fertility has been overlooked in the literature on life-course development,
due to its focus on male development as a model for human development
(Oktay & Walter, 1991). Although the percentage of married women between
ages 15 and 44 who were infertile in 1982 dropped from 8.5% (2.4 million) to
6.0% (1.5 million) in 2006 to 2010, the rate of impaired fecundity of all women
(infertility and inability to bring a pregnancy to delivery in any child-bearing
age woman) rose from 11% in 1982 to 15% in 2002 and dropped to 12% in
2006 to 2010 (Chandra, Copen, & Stephen, 2013). Measurement of infertility,
impaired fecundity, and couples’ barriers to pregnancy are much more com-
plex than one might imagine, but the reality is that couples who are trying to
achieve pregnancy feel loss when they are unable to have a child.
Fertility is an important component of self-esteem in both men and
women. Those adults who discover infertility issues experience a marked
decrease in self-esteem and self-confidence. Many couples (women in particu-
lar) feel flawed and damaged when they do not become pregnant. The couple
often experiences a deep sense of loss as a result of not moving into the “next
step” of becoming a parent. Because childbearing is a normal developmen-
tal milestone, being infertile thwarts a step in adult development (Watkins &
Baldo, 2004). Feelings of grief are often present throughout years of trying
