Exploring perceptions of reproductive timing within British South Asian communities: A qualitative study.

The average age of women when they have their first child has steadily increased over the past few decades and this trend has led to considerable political, public and academic interest. Whilst there is a growing body of research evidence that explores the ways in which women perceive when the ‘right’ time is for motherhood in the UK, there is a paucity of research that explores how the timing of motherhood is shaped by a range of intersecting social and cultural attributes, particularly amongst women in ethnic minority groups. To address this lacuna, this thesis aimed to explore how the timing of motherhood is perceived and experienced by women within British South Asian communities.

A qualitative and interpretive approach was used in this study and data collection was carried out over two discrete, but linked phases. To explore the community perceptions of reproductive timing, the first phase consisted of four focus groups, with a total of 31 participants of Indian and Bangladeshi ethnic origin. The second phase of this study included in-depth interviews with 28 women, also of Indian and Bangladeshi origin, to explore individual accounts of reproductive timing.

The theoretical framework used in this study was drawn from conceptual dimensions of the life course perspective; norms, reproductive agency and identity. The findings in the thesis suggest that women’s perceptions of the ‘right’ time for motherhood are shaped by changing social norms that emphasise the acquisition of certain preconditions before parenthood and are also influenced by a number of cultural values and beliefs. The role of the family and community are particularly significant in shaping understandings of how and when women should become mothers, and women often have to manage and reconcile multiple and conflicting norms and expectations. Women’s experiences also suggest that the choice to shape the timing of motherhood can be simultaneously enabled and constrained, by wider social structures and psychological processes, in complex and nuanced ways.

This research provides original empirical knowledge of how the timing of motherhood is socially and culturally nuanced and advances theoretical understandings of the life course by demonstrating how structural and individual processes intersect to shape perceptions and experiences of reproductive timing.