Mother's Day survey: Desire for children meets time of crisis

68 percent of women have always wanted to have children. But difficult work-life balance and financial worries leave many doubting whether the right time will ever come. This is the finding of a Marketagent survey commissioned by the Vienna Fertility Center for Mother's Day. Forty-four percent of 14- to 29-year-olds of both sexes believe that the world is currently not a good place for children. Two-thirds of all respondents believe that parenthood is harder than it was for previous generations.

Nine out of ten women said that balancing family and career remains difficult for mothers. Almost 80 percent of respondents reported that societal expectations of mothers have continued to rise in recent years. 79 percent said that economic uncertainty is preventing them from having children or more children. 75 percent are concerned about whether they can provide a secure future for their children.

The challenges are unsettling many, according to a press release from the Vienna Fertility Center on Thursday. Just over half said they are worried about the responsibility that comes with parenthood. Around one in three women and one in three men even feels fear at the thought of parenthood. Among single parents, the figure is 45 percent. 79 percent of respondents believe that more and more women are consciously choosing not to have children.

The desire to have children is being postponed further and further, it was explained. Less than a third of all people of childbearing age (approximately 14 to 39 years old) express a desire to have children now. Respondents without a high school diploma, at 43 percent, have a desire to have children, almost ten percentage points higher than those with a high school diploma. Those with higher education are more likely to worry that parenthood will hinder their career prospects.

A quarter of men (25 percent) fear not finding a suitable partner to start a family; only 17 percent of women express this concern. Furthermore, three percent of men worry about delaying fatherhood for too long. Only 25 percent of women share this concern.

"The desire to have children remains strong despite all the challenges, but many postpone the decision in times of crisis because the moment never really feels right. In doing so, they often ignore the fact that fertility has its own limits. The biological clock keeps ticking, even if the mind is still hesitating," emphasized Andreas Obruca, medical director of the Fertility Center at the Vienna University of Technology in Vienna-Mariahilf. Men should also address their fertility. "The causes of involuntary childlessness lie with the man in 55 percent, with the woman in 15 percent, and with both partners in 30 percent of cases," said the fertility expert.