The decline in fertility rates and changing attitudes towards childbearing have become one of the most important demographic challenges in the country in recent years. This issue has taken on deeper and more complex dimensions, especially among working women who are faced with simultaneous family and professional responsibilities; therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the lived experience of working women in Durood of childbearing and identify the conditions, backgrounds, obstacles, strategies, and consequences related to it.
This study is methodologically based on a data-based theory approach and is based on the Strauss and Corbin model. The research population included all working women in Durood who had experience of childbearing or were on the verge of making a decision about it. The sample was selected using a purposive and then theoretical method, and the sampling process continued until theoretical saturation was reached; so that a total of 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. The main data collection tool was semi-structured interviews, and the data were analyzed in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding according to the systematic model of grounded theory.
The research findings showed that the decision of working women to have children is influenced by a complex set of factors. In the causal conditions section, factors such as the pressure of simultaneous roles, social expectations, changing cultural attitudes, and the importance of personal fulfillment were identified. Contextual conditions included economic, environmental, cultural, and family contexts that provided a platform for women's decision-making. Intervening conditions included organizational and family supports as reinforcing factors.