Effects of Eldercare-Childcare Integration Services on the Fertility Intentions of Women of Childbearing Age: Based on a survey in Ningbo China 

Effects of Eldercare-Childcare Integration Services on the Fertility Intentions of Women of Childbearing Age: Based on a survey in Ningbo China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of Eldercare-Childcare Integration Services on the Fertility Intentions of Women of Childbearing Age: Based on a survey in Ningbo China Siqi Shao, Enlin Cao, Deshui Zhou This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074874/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective To discuss and conduct an empirical investigation of the influence of eldercare-childcare integration services on the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age because strengthening women’s fertility intentions is a fundamental way of facilitating the long-term balanced development of the population. Methods Based on demographic census data of women of childbearing age in Ningbo China in 2023, the study employed a logit model and the KHB decomposition method. Results Eldercare-childcare integration services have significant positive effects on the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age, particularly women from non-only-child families and working outside the civil service. According to mechanism analysis, positive expectations for marriage and health improvement are internal mechanisms for the eldercare-childcare integration services to promote the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age. The standard regression results remained true after overcoming endogeneity by a robustness test and PSM (propensity score matching). Conclusion The study recommends optimising fertility-support policies, strengthening the systematic supply of eldercare-childcare integration services, and facilitating long-term balanced populations based on well-being guarantees for women of childbearing age. eldercare-childcare integration services women of childbearing age fertility intentions Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 24 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9074874","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627596218,"identity":"e6a83df7-85f5-4af9-a660-adcdee798daf","order_by":0,"name":"Siqi Shao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ningbo University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Siqi","middleName":"","lastName":"Shao","suffix":""},{"id":627596221,"identity":"a380dca1-95b8-4e62-a32d-362b84bc9f75","order_by":1,"name":"Enlin Cao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Anhui University of Finance \u0026 Economics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Enlin","middleName":"","lastName":"Cao","suffix":""},{"id":627596222,"identity":"2bbdbe7e-0909-4430-96e1-f0c00d879dd8","order_by":2,"name":"Deshui Zhou","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSDmYWBIYGBmPvjgg4GNHSla2JINZxSkJZOghYHHTJjnwyHGBkI65Gc3H5N4U1GXZ3CcLY3ZxuAAMwP74aMb8GlhnHMsTXLOmcPFBoeZjz3OMbjDx8CTlnYDnxZmiRwzad62A4kbDrOlG+cYPGNmkOAxw6uFDazlXx1QC4+ZtIXBYcYGQlp4wFoamCFaGIjRIiGRlmw559jhxJmHgYHcY5CWzEbIL/Izkg/eeFNTl9h3/vDBBz/+2Njxsx8+hlcLFt+RpnwUjIJRMApGATYAAEM+SQREvJ8DAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Anhui University of Finance \u0026 Economics","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Deshui","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-09 15:38:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074874/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074874/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107868859,"identity":"25506ada-47f5-41c5-8541-dfdf36dbcab4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 07:34:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":531014,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"maniscript0324.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9074874/v1_covered_19980cc8-2159-4289-840c-54638e3a8894.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effects of Eldercare-Childcare Integration Services on the Fertility Intentions of Women of Childbearing Age: Based on a survey in Ningbo China ","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-womens-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bmwh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Women's Health](http://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/bmwh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Women's Health","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"eldercare-childcare integration services, women of childbearing age, fertility intentions","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074874/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074874/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eObjective\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo discuss and conduct an empirical investigation of the influence of eldercare-childcare integration services on the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age because strengthening women\u0026rsquo;s fertility intentions is a fundamental way of facilitating the long-term balanced development of the population.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on demographic census data of women of childbearing age in Ningbo China in 2023, the study employed a logit model and the KHB decomposition method.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEldercare-childcare integration services have significant positive effects on the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age, particularly women from non-only-child families and working outside the civil service. According to mechanism analysis, positive expectations for marriage and health improvement are internal mechanisms for the eldercare-childcare integration services to promote the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age. 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