Rethinking the Meaning & Implications of Child in Life; A Qualitative Approach among Voluntary Childless Married Women in Tehran

The present research, aimed to explore the meaning of child and its role in childbearing in the perspective of childless married women. Using a qualitative method with Basic Interpretive approach, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with women who were married within last 5 years and were voluntarily childless. These women were selected using purposive sampling method in the summer of 2017 and thematic content analysis with inductive approach was conducted. The main theme emerged was: “Child meaning is an integration of an intrinsic and internal desire with ambiguity and concerns ,which coincide with increased rationality on voluntary & planned childbearing, changes in child’s role in the quality of marital relations and elderly support. It is a dynamic notion and it evolves by time transition (both in the life course, and cohort transition)”. Despite intrinsic value of child, due to increased rationalization, women are looking to find circumstances that decide on child bearing upon control of all conditions, to ensure of marital quality before childbearing and looking to mediate their expectations from their child in elderly by having an active and healthy elderly. This meaning of child and it’s implication in life needs to be considered in the interpretation of changes of childbearing behavior in recent generations.