Couples Who Choose to Remain Childless

In-depth interviews with 21 couples who had agreed never to have children 21 who wanted children but later and 19 couples classified as unsure found that couples who did not want children and those who were unsure were most likely to use effective contraception those who wanted children the least likely to plan. Mean age of husbands was 24 wives 22.5. They were representative of the community in terms of socioeconomic status background and religion. The intentionally childless had thought the longest about childbearing (5 years opposed to 3.9 years for those who wanted children but later) and had been actively discussing it for 3.4 years. Those who intended children later had spent 1.8 years discussing the matter those who were unsure 2.7. These deliberately childless couples reported a good deal of pressure from families. Only 24% said they could be persuaded to have children and the only things which could persuade them was either a change in the wifes attitude or a change in her career plans. In general the wifes feelings about children prevailed and these feelings were closely related to career potential. It is suggested that the state of the upper-level job market for women in the next few years will have a significant impact on the fertility of these couples. Among those who were undecided the wifes income was listed as a major reason for indecision. It is suggested that many of these may eventually become intentionally childless if the wifes career opportunities increase. Their effective use of contraception makes it clear they are not leaving childbearing decisions to chance.