http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5npjw5

Postponement of first births is a key cause of declining fertility rates, especially in East Asia where recovery from delayed childbearing has been weak. This paper investigates achievement of ideal ages at marriage and first birth in Singapore using survey data on 657 married women aged 25–34. Almost 50 per cent marry within one year of their ideal age, but less than 30 per cent have their first child within six months of their ideal interval to first birth, with around 50 per cent waiting longer than ideal. The high proportion of women experiencing a longer-than-ideal first birth interval was observed across all age and educational groups. Regression results show that co-residence with a foreign domestic worker and paid leave entitlements are associated with higher probability of achieving their ideal first birth interval, whereas availability of parents/in-laws, husband’s help and unpaid leave do not reduce time to childbearing. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Transnational motherhood continues to grow among Filipina mothers. It resulted in economic prosperity and quality of life of Filipino families but caused family pressures within the sphere of motherhood. This qualitative study is grounded through the philosophical lens of phenomenology aimed to explore the lived experiences of transnational mothers. It seeks to understand their life history, present experiences that redefined their motherhood, and reflections of the future. The lived experiences of transnational mothers began with the experience of the personal and structural dimensions of poverty in the past. Their decision to embark on labor migration was primarily instrumental to alleviate their life condition. However, mothering from a distance has ensued emotional, social, and psychological strains. To cope with the situation, they observed four central coping ways: the role of faith and prayer; the repression of emotional strains through work and friends; focus and positive thinking; and the rationalization of distance by way of regular virtual communication and remittances. The hopes of transnational mothers revealed their yearning for family reunification predicated on improving their family life through financial security, savings, and children's education. This intersection between motherhood and labor migration has therefore created new family forms, structures, roles, meaning, and expectations. © The Author(s) 2021.