Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia
Graham, Melissa, Hill, Erin, Shelly, Julia and Taket, Ann 2013, Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia, Journal of social inclusion, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 70-89.
Childlessness in Australia is increasing yet there is limited research exploring women’s reasons for childlessness. Previous research has typically examined childlessness within the context of fertility rather than childlessness itself. The limited research that has moved beyond looking at involuntary childlessness has labelled women with a type of childlessness during recruitment rather than exploring women’s reasons for childlessness as a part of the research process.
The aim of this mixed methods exploratory study (n = 50) was to describe women’s reasons for childlessness. Findings indicate that almost half of the women did not wish to have children. Reasons for childlessness included: having never wanted to have children; having never been in the ‘right’ relationship; and being in a relationship where the partner did not want to have children.
The findings provide insight into women’s reasons for childlessness, how they feel about their decision, circumstance and position as a woman in a pronatalist society.
Language
eng
Field of Research
111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified 169901 Gender Specific Studies 111404 Reproduction
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Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au.