Ambivalence, outcome of childbearing decision making among women

Currently childbearing is recognized as an experience with contradictory feelings for women. Knowing the decision making process of childbearing is an important aspect of reproductive health. This study aimed to explain the experiences of ambivalence after making decision for childbearing in Iranian women. This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis approach with 32 married women from Tehran who were pregnant for the first time or were using contraceptive methods. Purposeful sampling was used and continued until data saturation. In-depth unstructured interviews were used to collect the data. Analysis of the data occurred simultaneously with data collection using content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman method in MAXQDA 2007 software. The analysis of the data led to extraction of 3 themes of certainty and satisfaction versus uncertainty and indecision, decision making in silence, and bargaining. Women feel ambivalent after making decision for childbearing because of the manner they make the decision, persistence of uncertainties and worries along with satisfaction and peace. Ambivalence in childbearing decision making is a prevalent and challenging phenomenon, and is potentially important for realizing pregnancy behavior and providing appropriate interventions in preconception consultations.