You're absolutely right, Deborah, societal structures are a large influence, the largest influence in fact, and they do influence us in ways that we do not realise. That is an excellent point about the UK benefits system, a friend of mine's mother used to work in it and she said the same thing as you, it was amazing how many young girls she met who were adamant they were going to get pregnant to get a house. They saw it as the best option and could not be dissuaded otherwise.

But I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, this was mainly brought in by new Labour and has since been, at least to an extent, countered a little bit due to limits put on the benefit system? Though it is still a strong driving force in some areas I believe. So, a solid point!

You are right as well about one of the problems with the UK benefits system being it too often accommodates for need to such an extent it hinders aspiration, meaning often rather than helping people get their lives either on track or back on track, it traps them. I don't know what the solution on that front is though. It is a very difficult one and a fine balance needs to be struck, the problem is it is political suicide to touch it so most politicians just ignore it and leave it be, which is a great shame. But it would be brilliant if we could create a benefits system that properly rewarded aspiration and helped people build their lives rather than too often trapping people.

My focus on the access to contraception element along with the knowledge of how to properly use it is more based on the fact that the study focused on two generations, which would equate to typically 40 to 60 years back. One of the big factors from this study is that younger people from poorer backgrounds had the most children, lack of access to contraception has historically been one of the main reasons for this. This is a trend seen across the globe as well in all developed countries and even developing countries.

Access to contraception and the knowledge in regards to how to use it, and the freedom to use it, when there is equality across the board, from top to bottom, tends to create a true picture of the birth rate levels. This is why we are seeing a more true picture of late of that in the UK, with those in the middle classes and upper classes now having more children than those lower down. But none of us are having enough.

But again, your point shows just how powerful societal influences are when it comes to things like the birth rate and so much more. This is why the way we solve the problem of the low birth rate in developed countries, is at a societal level.

Thanks for reading, and for your comments, very interesting! :-)