A burden and a blessing--young Swedish women's experience of fertility. A study among women lacking experience of pregnancy and parenthood.

We used phenomenological method to describe fertility as it was experienced by young women who have chosen to take contraceptive pills. The women lacked experience from pregnancy and parenthood. We interviewed ten women aged 23-27 years. We found that fertility was experienced as paradoxical, as follows: fertility as a power that has to be suppressed, experiencing fertility in the present time and as a future finite possibility, and having one's own fertile responsibility governed by society. Striving for a perfect life was a central aspect of fertility. Expectations on female fertility seem to influence young women's planning in life.