Patterns of birth rate and reproductive behavior of Russian female population: current trends

The article analyzes changes in the patterns of birth rate and female reproductive behavior in the period from 2000 to 2018. The object of the research is reproductive behavior, which is a system of actions and relationships aimed at giving birth to a certain number of children or refusing to give birth. The subject of the research is demographic and socio-economic aspects of the relationship between the need for children and the conditions of realization. The purpose of this paper is to consider current trends of birth rate and reproductive behavior, taking into account demographic, economic, and social factors that affect birth rate. The novelty of the study is the usage of an interdisciplinary approach based on the synthesis of demographic and economic theories that explain changes in reproductive behavior. The article analyzes the dynamics of demographic and socio-economic indicators, highlights the characteristic features inherent in certain patterns of Russian female population reproductive behavior for the period from 2000 to 2018. The results obtained in the course of the study demonstrate fundamental restructuring of the system of values associated with the birth and upbringing of a child. The decline of crude and total birth rates, shifts in the age structure of birth rate, the focus on one- or two-child family pattern, the increase of an average maternal age at birth indicate a prevalence of economic and social benefits over the birth of more children. In practical terms, the results presented in the article can serve as a basis for future interdisciplinary research in birth rate area and be used as a methodological and informational base for developing demographic policy measures aimed at stimulating birth rate.