Reproductive motivation: a comparison of wives and husbands in Maharashtra, India

This study compares family size preferences, ideal sex compositions, and the motivation underlying these preferences between currently married women and their husbands in a transitional rural society in India. Reasons for having children, though similar, differ in some important respects: women's family size preferences are shaped largely by their dependence on sons for old age and other support; their husbands are affected by this motive as well, but they are also influenced by a desire to continue the family line and perform ritual obligations. However, it is primarily the women who feel the constraints imposed on their time, resources, and other opportunities by large numbers of children, which affect their family size preferences negatively. Finally, both spouses are similarly concerned about the health risks to the mother imposed by frequent childbearing. The net effect of the wives' two opposing motivations results in their having family size desires almost the same as their husbands' desires. As female status improves, the old age security motive is likely to diminish, and concern with utilization of time and resources is likely to become more important, leading ultimately to a reduction in desired family size among women.