Involuntarily childless couples: their desire to have children and their motives.

Long-term infertile couples often reflect seriously on their desire for a child. By investigating involuntarily childless couples we might get a better understanding of the intensity of the desire for the first child, the motives behind this desire and the difference between men and women in these respects. In this study among 108 couples with a mean infertility period of 8.6 years, the desire for children was still very strong especially among the women. Also, there were differences between men and women as to their motives for having a child. The most frequent motives for wanting a child are part of the categories happiness and well-being. Motives within the categories social control and continuity were seldom mentioned. Among women with the most intense desire for a child, motives within the categories motherhood and identity-development were very important.