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Are Israeli Grandmothers the Key to Israel's High Birthrate?
(Economist-UK) Israelis have many more children than their counterparts elsewhere in the West. The average British woman has 1.6 children. Between 1960 and 1990 Jewish Israeli fertility declined from 3.4 to 2.6, but then it began to buck the trend and rose to its current 3.1. Secular Jewish Israelis have more children than the norm. Most work and child care is not cheaper than in other places. One explanation may be that Israeli grandparents tend to help out more than their peers in many other countries. Since Israel is small and densely populated, grandma is never far away. In one survey, 83% of secular Jewish mothers aged 25-39 said they were supported by their child's grandparents, whereas only 30% of German mothers said the same.