How cohabitors view childbearing

Over one third of all U. S. births are to unmarried women, many cohabiting with their baby's father. While nonmarital childbearing is concentrated among the less educated, in recent decades, its prevalence has increased among those with a high school degree or some college education. This article explores whether cohabitors with some postsecondary schooling challenge normative views regarding marriage as a prerequisite for childbearing. Data are from twenty-four in-depth interviews with childless cohabitors. The majority of respondents intending to have children consider marriage a necessary prerequisite; adherence to this particular sequence is firmest for those with strong aspirations for middle-class status and professional careers. Nonetheless, a considerable share does not view marriage as an imperative, either for parenting or as an end in itself.