Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Childlessness in Australia is increasing yet there is limited research exploring women&rsquo;s reasons for childlessness. Previous research has typically examined&nbsp;childlessness within the context of fertility rather than childlessness itself. The limited&nbsp;research that has moved beyond looking at involuntary childlessness has labelled women with a type of childlessness during recruitment rather than exploring women&rsquo;s reasons for childlessness as a part of the research process.&nbsp;The aim of this&nbsp;mixed methods exploratory study (n = 50) was to describe women&rsquo;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 &lsquo;right&rsquo; relationship; and being in a relationship where the partner did not want to have children. The findings provide insight into women&rsquo;s&nbsp;reasons for childlessness, how they feel about their decision, circumstance and&nbsp;position as a woman in a pronatalist society.</div