Maternity Leave and Childbearing Decisions among Employed Women

The aim of this study was to identify the experience of employed mothers from maternity leave and its impact on fertility decisions. The research approach of this study is qualitative. The sample consists of 25 employed mothers who experienced maternity leave, were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variety in terms of age, number of children, position, type of contract and determined based on the theoretical saturation level. The data collection method is in-depth interview and the analysis method is thematic analysis based on Brown's approach. The core category is "relatively contradictory relationship between maternity leave and fertility", which arises from the two themes of "timely childbearing" and "limited and conditional fertility increase capacity". Based on the results, implementing maternity leave and increasing its duration has provided an opportunity to have children at the right time and prevent long delays, but due to the causal chain of childbearing and numerous institutional barriers, it is not enough to achieve fertility ideals and increase the number of children. Maternity leave cannot increase the number of children per se and it is necessary to provide appropriate socio-economic conditions for childbearing and to adopt a set of supportive programs and policies, particularly a broad access to child care as well as labor market flexibility.