Investigating Predictors of Subsequent Childbirth Plan According to Employment Status of Mothers with Firstborn Infants and Preschoolers

Objectives: As South Korea's low birth rate becomes an increasingly serious social issue, attention must be paid to the multifaceted factors influencing subsequent childbirth plans compared with first births, including employment status, and child-rearing experience. Therefore, based on Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory, this study examines the impact of maternal employment status on subsequent childbirth plans. Specifically, it investigates how variables within five distinct categories influence subsequent childbirth plans among stay-at-home and working mothers.Methods: Data were gathered using a questionnaire distributed to 291 stay-at-home mothers and 285 working mothers with firstborn infants and preschoolers. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and binomial logistic regression analyses were used for data analysis.Results: First, no association was observed between mothers’ employment status and subsequent childbirth plans, with both groups expressing low subsequent childbirth plans. Second, among stay-at-home mothers, maternal age, maternal education, firstborn’s age, co-parenting, and parenting time significantly influenced subsequent childbirth plans, with maternal education being the strongest predictor, followed by maternal age, co-parenting, parenting time, and firstborn’s age. Third, among working mothers, only maternal age was significantly associated with subsequent childbirth plans.Conclusion: This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the individual and environmental factors that shape mothers’ subsequent childbirth plans, a critical dimension of the broader discourse on declining birth rates. These results highlight the importance of developing policy proposals tailored to mothers’ employment status. Future policies should carefully address the personal and environmental factors that influence subsequent childbirth plans among mothers of firstborn infants and preschoolers.