Beyond motherhood: understanding the lives of voluntarily childless women in a pronatalist society

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of a small purposively selected sample of women in Israel who had consciously chosen to remain childfree within a strongly pronatalist context. Informed by a constructivist feminist approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with participants who self-identified as childfree by choice. Thematic analysis yielded three themes. The first of these - redefining femininity and the embodied self - shows how participants challenged assumptions that equated womanhood with motherhood, framing femininity as rooted in autonomy and bodily integrity. The second theme - relationships, sexuality, and navigating social expectations - highlights how participants managed reproductive intentions, relational boundaries, and stigma. The third theme - autonomy, freedom, and the validation of choice - demonstrates how participants described childfreeness as a fulfilling life pathway aligned with personal values and emotional freedom. Interpreted through a social constructionist lens, the findings suggest that voluntary childlessness should be understood not as a lifestyle preference but as a consciously articulated identity shaped by moral reasoning and negotiation with social norms. Study findings offer an in-depth account of meaning-making among women who actively claim a childfree identity within a collectivist society.