Childlessness: perceptions, acceptability and the gender dimension

Childlessness has major psychological and social implications for affected persons especially in settings where fertility is highly valued. In such setting, childlessness is a potentially stigmatizing status and voluntary childlessness is rare. Given the various socio-economic and demographic changes that have taken place in recent decades in virtually all societies, there is the need to explore how these developments may have affected societal perception of childlessness especially in societies that celebrate parenthood. Using narratives of individuals from three Nigerian communities, this paper examined societal perception and acceptance of voluntary and involuntary childlessness. The paper relies on data collected from 24 focus group discussion with men and women in Nigeria. Findings show that voluntary childlessness is not a legitimate choice in Nigeria. Infact, staying with an infertile spouse was seen as choosing to be voluntarily childless. However, we noted a more tolerant attitude to involuntary childlessness. The policy and programme implications of the findings are discussed.