The wish to have a child. A pilot-study of infertile couples

All women (n = 30) who were to undergo microsurgical treatment for tubal infertility, and their partners (n = 29), were subject to individual interviews just before and 2 years after the tubal surgery. Initially, they answered an open question concerning their wish to have a child and then were asked to choose from a list of 36 alternatives, a maximum of five motives for having a child. The infertile couples' motives were compared with those of three reference groups: one group of 30 who had decided to continue their pregnancy, another group of 101 women who also planned to continue pregnancy and a third group of 459 women applying for legal abortion. All motives on the list were categorized as "philosophical", "social/cultural", "interpersonal" and "intrapsychic" motives. The interpersonal and intrapsychic motives dominated both the infertile women and their partners. A central motive was that a child is an ultimate expression of love between a man and a woman. The motives of the infertile couples, generally, did not differ from those of the reference groups.