Journal Article
Changing landscapes of parenthood: childbearing among same-sex and different-sex couples in the Nordic countries
Ponkilainen, M., Einiö, E., Kolk, M., Fallesen, P., Torvik, F. A., Andersen, M. L.,
Myrskylä, M.Population and Development Review, 1–30 (2026)
Abstract
The Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland were among the first countries to acknowledge same-sex couples’ partnership and parenthood rights in their legislation. We explore trends over time in the share of female same-sex and different-sex couples that have children following their legal union and variation by socioeconomic status. Using harmonized register data, we assess couples’ likelihood of having a child over time, with a focus on education and income. We find strong increases in female couples’ likelihood of having a child, resulting in a sharply increasing prevalence, approaching near parity with different-sex couples in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway around 2010. Finland diverges from the other countries in terms of its later and less steep increase. Higher education is associated with a higher likelihood of having a child, whereas we find a less clear gradient by income level. The results suggest that legal changes, together with more supportive wider cultural and normative societal environments, have made same-sex parenthood more achievable in the Nordic countries. These changes are concurrent with the observed increase in parenthood. Following this increase, female couples today are nearly as likely as different-sex couples to have children within a legal union.