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. 2024 Nov 5;24(1):589.
doi: 10.1186/s12905-024-03409-0.

Reflections on timing of motherhood - a qualitative online study with women of reproductive age

Camilla Gry Temmesen  1   2   3   4 , Henriette Svarre Nielsen  5   6 , Kathrine Birch Petersen  7 , Jane Clemensen  8   9   10
Affiliations

Reflections on timing of motherhood - a qualitative online study with women of reproductive age

Camilla Gry Temmesen et al. BMC Womens Health. .

Abstract

Background: The age of Danish women giving birth to their first child has risen throughout the last 50 years, and the number of women and men who are having their first child when they are at advanced maternal or paternal age is increasing worldwide. Postponing parenthood is not unique to Denmark, as the same pattern is seen especially in other European and Western countries. The aim of this study was in a social media setting to explore reflections on the timing of motherhood among Danish women of reproductive age who not yet had children.

Method: This study was a qualitative study based on three online focus groups on Facebook. Twenty-six women of reproductive age discussed the timing of motherhood for three days in January 2020. Data were analyzed using Systematic Text Condensation.

Results: Three main themes were identified: 'Life before parenthood', 'To plan for a child' and 'A life without children'. Several external and internal conditions influence whether and if so when women consider becoming mothers. Regarding the biological capacity for having children, women compare themselves with their female relatives and friends and colleagues regarding the social norms surrounding motherhood. Women with no children often experience either positive or negative pressure from family, friends, and colleagues regarding when to have children.

Conclusion: Several internal and external considerations influence when and if women become mothers. Social surroundings such as family, friends, and colleagues have an impact on women's reproductive considerations in terms of pressure to have children in the future. Danish women tend to compare their reproductive capacity to their female relatives and compare the social norms surrounding motherhood to their female friends. Women in this study were positive towards discussing the timing of motherhood with other women of reproductive age on social media.

Keywords: Facebook; Motherhood; Online focus groups; Postponing; Reproduction; Reproductive age; Social media; Timing; Women.

Plain language summary

The age of women giving birth to their first child has risen throughout the last 50 years, and the number of Danish women and men having their first child when they are at advanced maternal or paternal is increasing. Postponing motherhood is not unique to Denmark, as the same pattern is seen especially in other European and Western countries. In this study, we explored the reflections on the timing of motherhood among Danish women of reproductive age who had not yet had children. Using a novel approach, we conducted three online focus groups on the social media platform Facebook. Twenty-six women aged 18–43 years without children, regardless of whether they wanted to have children in the future, were included. The study revealed several internal and external considerations influencing when and if women establish a family. Regarding their biological capacity for having children, women tend to compare themselves to their female relatives and their friends and colleagues regarding the social norms surrounding motherhood. Women with no children often experience pressure from family, friends, and colleagues about when to have children, which can be perceived as unfavorable while at the same time being experienced as motivating for planning future motherhood. Women in this study were positive towards discussing the timing of motherhood with other women of reproductive age on social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

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Recruitment and data collection process
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References

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