French policies subsidizing generous maternity leave, child-care allowances fuel rising birth rate

French policies subsidizing generous maternity leave for women, tax credits for large families and other benefits are fueling one of the highest birth rates in Europe, the Washington Post reports (Moore, Washington Post, 10/18).

Birth rates in European countries recently have reached a historic low, with the largest and most recent fall occurring in Eastern Europe.

All European countries recorded birth rates of more than 1.3 children per woman in 1990, but in 2002, 15 counties had rates below 1.3 children per woman, and six countries had rates between 1.3 and 1.4 children per woman.

According to a report released recently by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, France's birth rate of about 1.8 children per woman is the second-highest in Europe, and France is the only European country with the possibility of maintaining its current population through births.

Incentives offered by the government include a three-year paid parental leave with guaranteed job protection upon returning to the workforce; universal, full-time preschool starting at age three; subsidized day care before age three; stipends for in-home nannies; and monthly child-care allowances that increase with the number of children per family (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/25).

Most of the subsidies and stipends are based on household income, ensuring that only a fraction of every working mother's salary goes to child-care costs, according to the Post.

The French system also "fosters different attitudes about working mothers," and French mothers say they feel less guilt while at work than their American counterparts or women in other European countries, the Post reports.

"In Mediterranean countries and Germany, it's work or children," Marie-Therese Letablier, research director of the Center for Employment Studies, said, adding, "In France, it's work and children."

According to the Post, three-fourths of all French mothers with at least two children are employed (Washington Post, 10/18).