Involuntary Childlessness Among The Middle Classes In Vadodara City (original) (raw)
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Addis Ababa University, 2016
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Childlessness has major psychological and social implications for couples and especially for women in settings where fertility is highly valued (Van Balen and Bos, 2001). In such settings, childlessness is usually involuntary. Involuntary childlessness may be caused by infertility, pregnancy loss, stillbirth or child death (Van Balen, 2000). This paper focuses on both voluntary and involuntary childlessness. Despite the importance of the issue, not many studies on voluntary childlessness have been carried out in Africa. Most available studies on this topic are based on America and Western European societies. Our definition of voluntary childlessness follows Chancey and Dumais’s (2009) definition of voluntarily childless women, to apply to both fertile men and women who have never had children, desire to remain childless and without any underlying assumption that they are advantaged or disadvantaged in relation to those with children.
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In a society which recognizes the significance of children, giving birth to a child completes womanhood and the family. Thus, being a mother is synonymous with being a woman. The failure, then to become a mother, constitutes not fully achieving the status of a woman. Relatively, the desire for motherhood is inevitable and almost universal. This qualitative study analyzed the beliefs, and experiences of married women focused on their childlessness, health-seeking practices, and effects. Data were gathered through in-depth interview. Results showed that childlessness typified an unanticipated condition among the childless women. Regardless of the current age, age at marriage, marital duration, educational attainment and income, the respondents disclosed that childlessness is a condition which can be treated, provided the woman is still young. Childless women with higher income would likely seek medical help. Length of marriage disclosed to have affected the childless women’s recogniti...
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This paper presents a discussion of thecimportance of voluntary childlessness as a contemporary social phenomenon. The negative attitudes associated with voluntary childlessness are discussed in a brief summary of recent literature. An exploration of the methodological limitations of existing research is included which emphasizes its usefulness for hypothesis formation and points to the need for more in-depth studies. A research strategy based in a theoretical foundationis outlined in terms of five propositions. dealing with both thartecedents and consequences of fertility choices, including: (1)the husband's and wife's freedom from traditional sex role identification; 1/0-sex role identification and fertility values formed by-experieicet'in the family of origin; (3) decision-making patterns in the-marriage; (4) the quality of a marriage without children; and (5) the potential for individual development in a childless mirriagi,:-A chart illustrating a schema for couple's development is also provided, (Author/MCF) ti
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022
The purpose of this concept analysis is to explore childlessness and provide understanding to professionals involved in the field of infertility. Walker and Avant's method was used to identify descriptions, antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents of the concept. A model with related and contrary cases was developed. The analysis was based on the definition of the term in major dictionaries in the Greek, Lithuanian, Finnish, Maltese, and Turkish languages, while further literature searches utilized the Web of Science, PubMed, PsychInfo, Medline, Google Scholar, and National Thesis Databases. The literature search was limited to papers/books published in the authors' national languages and English. As a result, childlessness is defined as the absence of children in the life of an individual, and this can be voluntary or involuntary. However, the deeper analysis of the concept may be preceded and amplified through cultural, psychological, biological, philosophical, theological, sociological, anthropological, and linguistic aspects throughout history. These elements presented challenges for childless individuals, ultimately influencing their choices to resort to alternative ways of becoming parents, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy, adoption, or other forms of childbearing. Historically, childlessness has been viewed with negative connotations due to its potential impact on the survival of the human species. This negativity can be directed even to individuals who may decide to opt to voluntarily remain childfree. The long-term impact of the experience, both on an individual and collective level, continues to cause pain to those who are involuntarily childless. In conclusion, health professionals and other stakeholders who have a deep understanding of childlessness, including the antecedents and attributes, can minimize the potential negative consequences of those factors contributing to childlessness, whether voluntary or involuntary. In fact, they can capitalize on a powerful impact of change adaptation by providing support to those in their practice to recover the lost homeostasis.