Poster Viewing Session - Psychology and Counselling (original) (raw)

Introduction: Increasingly women are waiting to have their children until their mid-to-late thirties when they are in fact facing the end of their reproductive lives. Accordingly, more women are finding themselves "involuntarily childless". It has been estimated that 20% of UK women born in 1975 and after will remain childless. Reasons cited for this dramatic shift have included major changes in the social structure of modern society such as increased access to and uptake of contraception, education and work outside the home. However, this group of women are usually described as having postponed motherhood, a phrase that suggests they have intentionally put off having children, despite knowing the risks they incur. This paper which uses both interview and questionnaire data, challenges this notion. It investigates whether woman awareness of their own reproductive function and age related fertility decline in particular is influential in the decision making process. Method: The results incorporate findings from 30 qualitative interviews with childless women aged 28-32 as well as quantitative data from a large-scale survey (1000 +) of childless women from 18-46 years of age. While this survey has collected data from across the globe, only British data will be discussed. This questionnaire was designed to measure the different constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This theory emphasises that human behaviours are governed not only by personal attitudes, but also by social pressures and the persons sense of control over the behaviour. Results: Results will be discussed is terms of how a woman's perceived control over her fertility (the affects of age, the success of ARTs), and the social pressure she may (or may not) feel to have children (should she be concentrating on her career, are her friends having children), influences her attitudes towards starting a family. How this changes according to the age of the woman will be of primary concern. Conclusions: This research is the first to try to combine the traditional reasons given for women postponing having children, such as the impact of education and career building, in conjunction with her potentially biased risk perception regarding fertility decline. It is imperative to understand whether women truly understand the affects of age on fertility, when they are making other private and professional live choices. Understanding the phenomenon of older first time mothers in a holistic, multifaceted way, is an important first step in reversing this trend.