Why Women Delay Childbearing: Is It Personal Freedom or Aspiration for Greater Social Mobility?-an Exploration Among Mumbai Women

Delay in childbearing is one of the most prominent transformations of contemporary fertility and reproductive patterns in India. In developing countries like India, where early childbearing was the norm, the rise in late childbearing is a new trend that has not been explored in detail. Mumbai has the largest female population giving first birth in the ages above 30 after Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi. The city has mushrooming growth of ART (Assisted Reproductive Techniques) centers with easy availability and access to all advanced medical health care facilities. In today’s modernizing phase, the role of women has changed as they have greater autonomy and independence than the women in earlier times. Educated urban women actively participate in the decision regarding their time of marriage and childbearing. In this study, we explore whether it is the personal freedom of couples or aspiration for greater social mobility which is leading to delayed childbearing. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted among 25 women who delivered their first child at age 35 and above in randomly selected hospitals in Mumbai, we assessed life course events leading to delay in the timing of first birth. Life story interviews of these 25 women were undertaken between October 2014 and August 2015. The participants of the study were women who had delivered their first biological child in last 6 months. Only first time mothers were included in the study. The study brings fresh insight about changing societal norms about marriage and childbearing among the urban women. As women are being educated, they have various aspirations and personal goals to fulfill before they want to begin a family and embrace childbearing responsibilities.