the result has been a pronounced postponement of first births and a higher rise in childlessness than in most european countries burh and huinink however patterns differ between the eastern and western german lander in the east the increase in women s education did not considerably affect completed fertility which remained stable across generations up to those bom in the s while in the western lander the lack of support for the workfamily balance contributed to falling birth rates across all generations in particular women who engage in a fulltime career in germany are much more likely to remain childless than in france while mothers are much more likely to work parttime and for particularly short hours or less per week