 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Childlessness as a ChoiceThis topic is a Contemporary Issue identified in Chapter 1, Pregnancy and Childbirth, of Exploring Early Childhood. It discusses the statistics relating to women and couples who are choosing to remain childfree, defines those who are childfree, and examines the reasons individuals and couples choose to remain childfree. 1999 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures estimate that 28% of Australian women currently of childbearing age will not have children, up from approximately 10% in the early 1970s. Similarly, 1996 ABS projections suggest that couple families without children will increase more rapidly than any other family type between 1996 and 2021. Such families are expected to grow from 1.7 million in 1996 to 2.9 million in 2021. The Bureau predicts that couple families without children will be the most common family type by 2016. This means that a significant proportion of the Australian population will never be a parent. Some childlessness is involuntary. A woman or her partner may be infertile, with up to 8% of couples unable to have children (Webb & Holman). In some cases this can be overcome through adoption or technological interventions, such as in-vitro fertilisation. Not being in a registered marriage may be another reason for involuntary childlessness, although this is less likely in Australia today with 29% of births occurring outside marriages (ABS). However, a growing number of Australians and other people in developed nations are electing to be non-parents, or are voluntarily choosing to remain childless. In fact, most women and couples who do not wish to have children of their own prefer to call themselves 'childfree' rather than 'childless'. They feel that the term 'childless' suggests that they are missing something that they want, and this not the case. Cartwright refers to a variety of groups among elective non-parents, including: those who are certain they never want children; those certain they do not want them for the time being; those content to accept that circumstances or timing did not suit their original intention to have children; those who are fundamentally ambivalent; those who feel the decision was in effect taken from them, e.g. for health reasons or lack of a partner at the appropriate time. Baum has conducted several studies and identified four major reasons why women choose to be childfree. These include:
In 1992, psychologists Rathus and Nevid conducted a study that focused on hundreds of couples without children. Couples were asked the reasons behind their decision not to have children. The thirteen common reasons were: the desire for couples to spend more time together; the freedom to pursue other interests; the ability for both partners to pursue their careers; greater financial security; more opportunities to become involved with community welfare and help other children; concern regarding strain on environmental resources and over-population; concern regarding the difficulty of parenthood; the fact that becoming a parent is an irrevocable decision; the decision to have children is not mandatory; a fear of failure; that it is not fair to bring a child into an unsafe world. People who make the choice to remain childfree often experience prejudice and suffer taunts and negative comments from others in the community. Some believe that not wanting to have children is 'unnatural', selfish or something that couples will regret later in life. Most people who do make the choice not to have children are not 'anti-children'; they are not socially or emotionally inadequate, but are caring and thoughtful people who have made their decision after a lot of consideration. Those who elect to be childfree are simply making a choice that is right for them, and not advocating that it is right for everyone. Cartwright explains 'we are not trying to stop people having children but simply defending the right of those who do not want children to make that choice.'
ReferencesAustralian Bureau of Statistics (1999), Population: Special article – Lifetime Childlessness Baum, F. (1999), 'Cross-national trends in childlessness', Working Papers in Demography, No. 73, Australian National University Research School of Social Sciences Cartwright, R. (1999), 'Childless or childfree?', Journal of Fertility Counselling, Autumn Webb, S. & Holman, D. (1992), 'A survey of infertility, surgical sterility and associated reproductive disability in Perth, Western Australia', Australian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 376–82
|