Authors

• Morteza KArimi ¹
• Reza Amani Samanai ²
• Maryam Hosseinia ³

¹ PhD Student

² PhD

³ M.A

Abstract

The findings reported here are obtained from a qualitative study (Grounded Theory) conducted in Royan Institute Royan of Tehran Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR). Fifteen in-depth interviews and one focus group conducted by the researchers (a middle class male in her 30s) over 2014. We studied meanings, definitions and functions of the child, paternity and maternity. We talked to infertile patients seeking medical treatment, those who have been cured by ART and have children, couples getting engaged recently and voluntary childless couples (focus group). Meanings and functions of the child were categorized in three main classifications: 1-meaning of life (including filling scene of life, filling couple’s loneliness, relieving the monotony of everyday life, taste and motive of life) 2- linking to life and self-development (child as a place for spending emotions, sense of ownership and belonging, child as completing familial life, continues of “me” in absence of ‘‘me’’, and desire for creating and bringing up) 3- self-narrative in relation to the other (adult, family, gender, sex identity). In second part of data analyzing, we explain constructing self-narrative in current Iranian families and this point that reaching to ideal child is a failed idea from voluntary childless couple’s view. Then we represent infertile patients seeking medical treatment’s opinion about voluntary childless couple. Next we indicate special reasons of voluntary childless couples for not having children including personal reasons (philosophical reasons, performing social roles, responsibility and being sensitive about raising children) and social reasons (lack of facilities for education and welfare, generation gap, duality and cultural disruption and anomy). In conclusion we persist on doing scientific studies and making decision about population and controlling it based on studies not ideological aims.
 

Keywords

• The Meaning and Function of Children
• Childhood
• infertility
• Maternal and Paternal
• Death
• Immortality and Expand