The purpose of this study was to explore single-child couples’ perceptions and experiences about childbearing incentives. Two generic categories emerged from the data analysis including (1) Advertising and providing information as an influencing factor to encourage childbearing, which included two subcategories: attention to the key lever of advertising and Necessity of adopting advertising policies and creating a culture of respecting the maternal role, and (2) Focusing on effective incentive policies, which included three subcategories: adopting incentive policies to reduce people’s financial problems, Avoiding punitive policies and Need to adopt incentive policies for working women and elites.
Regarding the generic category of “Advertising and providing information as an influencing factor to encourage childbearing”, it should be said that as family planning has become a culture in families through extensive advertising and information provision in all strata of society, now it is required to overcome the crisis of population reduction, a mass mobilization should take place in all strata of society and national media and virtual networks. Regarding paying attention to the key lever of advertising, it should be said that advertising as the most effective way to motivate couples, and the inefficiency of advertising to encourage childbearing are both salient issues for the ineffectiveness of fertility promotion policies. In line with the findings of the present study, in the qualitative research of Balakhani [31], the attitude of people towards population policies is cognitively poor, that is, due to insufficient information, people do not have the necessary awareness and knowledge about fertility promotion measures and laws in the society.
Ineffectiveness of advertising to encourage childbearing due to the insufficient efforts of the media has not yet been able to promote childbearing because there is not enough information, and also in terms of the content, the advertisement is superficial and cannot be understood by the audiences. In line with the findings of this research, Hsiao and Sun [32] stated that illiterate people due to the lack of access to media advertisements do not have sufficient knowledge of the financial incentives of the Singapore government. Different issues like the long distance between words and actions in childbearing advertisements, advertisements without executive support like slogans, and the lack of advertisements’ impact on people’s livelihood and well-being were demonstrated as the causes of the ineffectiveness of advertisements and the conscious and planned choice of one child, which is in accordance with the results of the study by Ghahfarokhi [33].
The participants in this research expressed insufficient public awareness of the actions and policies carried out by the government to encourage childbearing in advertisements. Furthermore, ambiguity in incentive policies was one of the factors of lack of trust in policies and incentives, as the nature of policies and how to benefit from them is not clear. Also, the temporary nature of incentive policies was another factor that led to the ineffectiveness of the policies. The concern of changing these policies with the change of government and also the experience of failure in benefiting from the incentives in the past years have made people unable to believe and trust in the new incentives and policies and their implementation [27]. The participants in this study considered the incentive policies to be purely economic and therefore believed that these policies only affect the less privileged classes and create incentives for them to have children. For example, actions such as child care and parental leave cannot be neutral depending on the socio-economic background. The use of formal child care among families that are at the lowest end of the income distribution scale is much less and usually women with higher education are those who use mostly parental leave [33]. According to the respondents of this study, the existing policies are focused on the size of the population and are not effective, efficient and quality-oriented, because the children’s quality of life is not given importance in the policies and only the number of childrenis considered [6].
Another key findings in this study was the need to adopt advertising policies and promoteing the culture of honoring maternal role, which aligns with the findings on the total fertility rate in Hong Kong (2017), highlighting the declining ideal of the two-child family. In fact, the long-term effect of the single-child policy was effective on the fertility intentions of Chinese youth [34]. Khaled [35] in his research focusing on the cultural changes and fertility decline in Iran, reported that the higher the level of religiosity in the cities, the lower the levels of secularism and individualism, and the higher the level of attention to family values, and the higher fertility rate. In this regard, it has been reported that having a negative experience of birth and transition to parenthood can hurt women’s fertility intention, but if fertility and pronatalist culture are prioritized in the cultural context of society, social pressures may reduce the effects of birth experiences on fertility intention [36].
In our study, despite the cultural background and religious context of Mashhad city, there was no observed effect of this background on the findings of the study, particularly regarding the cultural attitudes towards childbearing. This is likely due to the globalization of the public culture under the influence of media and virtual space, as well as economic problems. This finding is in line with the component of the environment’s influence on couples’ behavior in Bandura’s social cognitive theory. Behmanesh et al. [19], similarly, found that the issue of single-child in the city of Babol in North Iran is influenced by the media and social patterns as well as self-advancement.
Some researchers, as proponents of the second demographic transition theory, emphasize the role of attitudinal and cultural changes in shaping individual ideals about the family and explaining demographic shifts. Therefore, the spread of individualism and shifts in the family and social attitudes and norms, especially among women, are among the factors that can influence intentions to have children, the spacing between births, and the number of children women choos to have [37]. It is obvious that Iranian society has undergone structural and value changes due to social modernization; which has also transformed to the city of Mashhad.; But unlike Western post-industrial societies that attribute fertility decline to individualism, the Iranian family is still the center of having children as an inevitable value and there is no legitimate alternative; therefore, people’s attitude towards having children should be understood in the context of the family institution [38].
Respecting the issue of culturalization, the implementation of planned and effective advertisements in targeted and specific groups, based on honoring gender roles, is a requirement. This is in line with the findings of Razeghi et al. [39], which found that gender-egalitarian attitudes, individualism, and understanding of social norms are in the favor of having only one child. Correcting the attitude and culture surrounding the conflict between employment/education and the role of motherhood was another important aspect of culturalization, which is consistent with the findings of Bahmanesh et al. [19]. In the studies of Moshfeq and Gharib [40] and Mubasheri et al. [41], factors influencing the decision to have only one child were noted as the conflict between having children and continuing education or the mother’s job. Another idea that needs attention in the cultural context of society is correcting the attitude and culture surrounding the conflict between health/beauty and the role of motherhood. In the studies by Bahmanesh et al. [19] and Newman et al. [42], this conflict was reported as a reason for not having children, due to a lack of interest in sharing one’s body with a child. Also, Mahmoudian and Rezaei [43] considered having fewer children beneficial for parents’ comfort, viewing a large number of children as an obstacle to their mental peace and physical comfort.
The second main category resulting from the data analysis in the current research was focusing on the effective incentive policies. In line with the findings of the current study, Chen et al. [44] states that incorrect targeting and lack of identification of target groups in changing the total fertility rate, cross-sectional measures, and low level of financial support may partly account for the ineffectiveness of incentives in many high-income Asian societies. Concerning the need to adopt incentive policies for working women and elites, in line with the findings of the current research, Samani [45] reported that the best way to prepare the society for increasing the fertility rate is to create a culture using the national facilities so that a deep and basic logical and convincing thought can be created for people in the country. For this purpose, the elites of the society must accept and be convinced of the need to increase the fertility rate; because if the elites of the society accept it, the process of creating a culture shift will be easier. Scholars and people with knowledge related to the issue of population in each sector can provide correct and acceptable logic in this field [45]. Granting facilities to prevent youth migration and paying attention to the needs of the elites were among the demands of the participants. In addition to the culture, legislation is also a factor in increasing the fertility rate. In line with the findings of the current study, Samani et al. [45], found that there is a significant positive relationship between legal protection and the desire of working women to be fertile.
The findings of the present research showed that incentive policies should be adopted to reduce people’s financial problems and economic incentive policies should be used, as it has implementation guarantees. In other words, the use of economic incentive policies including solving the housing problem of couples, making policies to receive child care allowances for couples, providing incentive policies to solve economic problems, and a sense of economic security could strengthen the couples’ motivation for childbearing [27]. In accordance with the findings of the present study, based on the findings of a survey on 400 married women aged 15 to 49 in Tehran, Iran it was found that if married women face any socio-economic restrictions, they are likely to restrain their reproductive desires towards having fewer children [46]. Similarly, qualitative research on women of childbearing age in Singapore, showed that the increase in living expenses after childbearing and household income is considered as an important capacity for childbearing [32].
Also, the analysis of industrialized societies showed that the value of fertility is more pronounced for white men at first and second births. Women’s income usually has a negative effect on fertility, while the net asset is most likely positively related to fertility [47]. Moreover, the most effective family policy in Japan was the monthly allowance for children under 15 years old [48]. In addition, an analysis of the implementation of the second-child policy in different provinces of China shows that the factors that hinder the implementation of the second-child policy are personal (late marriage, job advancement, increased costs, cultural aspects, and physical factors) as well as social factors (resources of public services such as education and health care) [11]. Regarding the effect of economic factors on the fertility rate in Iran, there was a positive correlation between the wages of working women and men and the fertility rate (47.8% of the fertility rate) [46]. Balakhani [31] regarding the link between childbearing and the economic problems of families, showed a kind of dissatisfaction with the economic and social situation prevailing in the society. However, in the present study, those who had mentioned economic problems as a reason for not having more children were found to have lower incomes and rented housing. This highlights the significant role of economic issues in the decision to have only one child. On the other hand, people who were in a better socioeconomic class had chosen to have only one child due to the women’s employment and lack of access to a suitable childcare providers. Also, Taheri et al. [20] believed that in an era when the economic crisis has caused families to suffer financial problems, the economic assistance of the government plays a very important role in increasing the birth rate. According to the findings of a systematic review by Seraj et al. [49] regarding the childbearing needs of single-child couples, addressing financial concerns is one of the fundamental issues.
The findings of the present study indicated avoidance of punitive policies and anti-motivational measures, because punitive policies may have the opposite effect. According to the findings of Botev [12], facilitative pronatalist policies increase the internal motivation for childbearing, mainly by increasing people’s competency for childbearing and raising children and strengthening their sense of independence. However, interventions aimed to force a behavior reduce people’s independence and lead to a decrease in internal motivation for childbearing [12]. In line with the findings of the present study, Onder-Erol in a study in Turkey titled “Population policy as a tool for bio politics”, found that the matter of when and how many children people want to have is completely private and reproduction is a basic human right [50]. Another study showed that counseling has a positive effect on students and could improve their motivation for childbearing [51].
Regarding the necessity of adopting incentive policies for working women and elites, according to the census data from 2011 in the Czech Republic, there was a relationship between single-child and professional jobs as well as the influence of societal values and conditions [52]. Although young men and women in Russia consider forming a family and childbearing as a significant value, they postpone it due to prioritizing job and professional achievements [53]. Men and women have different perceptions and experiences in dealing with family-work conflicts. Due to the deep-rooted issue of women’s caring role, women are usually forced to sacrifice more for the family [54]. For example, very low birth rates in Southern and Eastern Europe and East Asia are associated with strong norms against maternal employment and heavy maternal responsibilities. On the contrary, in Europe, the reduction of work-family conflict is associated with increased access to childcare with a higher fertility rate [36, 55].
According to the registered data of Norway, the availability of kindergarten has positive effects on the transition to motherhood [56]. Also, the results of research in China showed that kindergartens improve women’s desire to be fertile [57]. Brainerd [58] reported that pronatalist policies increase the number of second and third births. Also, the findings of qualitative research by Jahangiri and Ahmadi [59] showed that lack of sufficient support for women and families and not having enough time due to being employed or continuing education are among the challenges facing childbearing. Khalajabadi and Saraei [60] reported that interventions in single-child couples should include improving women’s job security, improving the quality of childcare centers, culturalizing the norm of childbearing, increasing the sense of social and economic security of families, and strengthening relationships in the family. The results of a systematic review by Bergsvik and Fauske [6] showed that the expansion of childcare increases the total fertility rate, while the increase in cash transfers has temporary effects. High-income couples more benefit from increased parental leave, while the expansion of childcare programs can reduce social inequalities in other areas [6]. The result of research in China among female employees of the public sector showed that the high costs of raising children and the status of job promotion are the main reasons for the unwillingness of 62.5% of women to have a second child [57].
One of the strengths of the present study was an evaluation of both couples as a unit. However, one of the limitations of the current research was the lack of cooperation of men due to busy work, however, it was tried as much as possible that legally married couples living together were interviewed, but in case of lack of access, other eligible men and women were interviewed. Another potential weakness of the study design that may affect the interpretation of the results, was adopting a qualitative approach, which is associated with limited generalizability, although it was tried to adjust it as much as possible by applying a maximum variation strategy during sampling. Regarding potential cultural factors that may limit the generalization of our findings, it should be noted that the study was conducted in a city with a predominantly Muslim religious context. Therefore, the findings could be generalizable to similar communities, but not all societies.
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