Using panel data, this study tracks the impact of reproductive transitions on women’s status in the household in India. Here, status refers to the social benefits that women experience by meeting societal expectations related to childbearing. The analysis shows that becoming a mother is associated with increased freedom of movement and access to enabling resources. The adoption of permanent contraception—a common life course event marking the end of childbearing in India—is associated with increased freedom of movement but has no association with changes in access to enabling resources. Household decision-making, another dimension of women’s status examined in the paper, is less dynamic over time and there is limited evidence of its association with reproductive transitions. The findings illustrate the tight linkages between household power dynamics and the life course in the South Asian context, and highlight the centrality of women’s role as mothers in determining their social position.

本研究使用面板数据追踪生殖转变对印度家庭妇女地位的影响。在这里，地位是指女性通过满足与生育相关的社会期望而获得的社会福利。分析表明，成为母亲与增加行动自由和获得有利资源有关。永久避孕的采用——印度生育结束的一种常见的生命历程事件——与行动自由的增加有关，但与获得有利资源的机会的变化无关。家庭决策是本文研究的女性地位的另一个维度，随着时间的推移变得不那么动态，并且有限的证据表明其与生殖过渡有关。