Retrospective Reproductive Concerns among Women with Children

Arthur Greil , Alfred University
Julia McQuillan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins, Old Dominion University
Nicholas Park, Galivan University
Michele Lowry, Alfred University
Andrea Burch, Alfred University

Little is known about the concerns women have about the reproductive choices they have made and the reproductive outcomes they have experienced. This study draws on an open-ended question from Wave I of the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB), a representative telephone survey of fertile and infertile women of reproductive age. Responses were classified into five broad categories: (1) no concerns, (2) concerns about unintended pregnancies or births, concerns about unfulfilled fertility desires, concerns about family, and concerns about pregnancy experiences. The analytic sample for this study includes 3,115 women with children who responded to the question. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that several characteristics were associated with differences between those with no reproductive retrospective concerns and those with specific retrospective concerns. For example, older women and subfecund women had higher odds of having unfilled fertility desires compared to “wouldn’t change a thing,” but women who identified as Black had lower odds of having unfilled fertility desires compared to “wouldn’t change a thing.”

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 Presented in Session P1. Poster Session Fertility, Family and the Life Course