Dyer Silke, Mokoena Ntebaleng, Maritz Johannes, van der Spuy Zephne
Reproductive Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Groote Schuur Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, South Africa.
Hum Reprod. 2008 Feb;23(2):352-7. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dem279. Epub 2007 Dec 6.
Most African countries are pronatalistic with high total fertility rates and a low prevalence of voluntary childlessness. At present, limited data exist relating to the reasons why men and women desire children. This study explores parenthood motives among infertile couples from an urban community in South Africa.
The parenthood-motivation list, an instrument developed in the Netherlands for the assessment of parenthood motives and strength of desire for a child, was administrated to 50 couples (100 participants) who presented to an infertility clinic in a tertiary referral centre. The instrument discerns six parenthood motives comprising happiness, well-being, identity, parenthood, continuity and social control.
The majority of participants endorsed most of the motives. The categories happiness and parenthood were the most frequent motives. Women endorsed more motives simultaneously when compared with men. The categories happiness, well-being and social control correlated positively with strength of desire for a child. Most men and women expressed a strong desire for a child.
Men and women desired children for many reasons and with similar intensity. This diversity and intensity of parenthood motives appears to be a reflection of the value of children in our communities and further our understanding of the implications of involuntary childlessness.
大多数非洲国家都提倡生育，总生育率高，自愿不育的比例低。目前，关于男性和女性想要孩子的原因的数据有限。本研究探讨了南非一个城市社区中不孕夫妇的生育动机。
对一家三级转诊中心不孕门诊的50对夫妇（100名参与者）使用了在荷兰开发的用于评估生育动机和想要孩子的愿望强度的工具——生育动机清单。该工具识别出六种生育动机，包括幸福、安康、身份认同、为人父母、延续性和社会控制。
大多数参与者认可了大多数动机。幸福和为人父母这两个类别是最常见的动机。与男性相比，女性同时认可的动机更多。幸福、安康和社会控制这几个类别与想要孩子的愿望强度呈正相关。大多数男性和女性都表达了强烈想要孩子的愿望。
男性和女性想要孩子有多种原因，且强度相似。这种生育动机的多样性和强度似乎反映了孩子在我们社区中的价值，也增进了我们对非自愿不育影响的理解。
