Involuntary childlessness and reproductive health problems perceptions and coping mechanism

Abstract

Childbirth is one of the normative conditionality for defining the ideal form of marriage and gender as a social construct. Parenthood becomes the desired social reality. Any deviation from this normative condition raises issues and concerns for the persons involved, particularly for women. The inability to achieve the desired social status of parenthood becomes problematic and any course correction also attains a social role within this. The notions of masculinity, feminity, womanhood and all procedures involved in attempting to have a child including medical procedures get imbricated within the patriarchal construct of involuntary childlessness. The present study was conducted to unlayer the social sub-texts of involuntary childlessness primarily from the perspective of women and also some of their spouses. The study is based on three categories of women who had been or are still taking medical treatment for infertility from cities of Chandigarh and Ludhiana (Punjab), which included: (i) Women currently pursuing infertility treatment (ii) Women with successful childbirth (iii) Women with unsuccessful treatment. The same categories were also followed for men. The experiences of women and men dealing with involuntary childlessness are formed by their socio-cultural milieu in context of their gender, family, extended social network and religious beliefs. Within this socio-cultural milieu, medical technologies are not neutral or value free tools and have their own social life. Contrarily, the state s role and contribution in recognising involuntary childlessness reflects a differing approach where it is not considered as a problem worthy of any specific and targeted state intervention. newline