“Happy Accident?” Couples’ Reproductive Decision-Making and the Role of Gender, Power and Reproductive Autonomy in the Netherlands.

Billie de Haas , University Of Groningen

Only a few studies have focused on reproductive autonomy and couples’ reproductive decision-making in the Netherlands. However, research shows that Dutch women have higher desired fertility than men, and that they do not always achieve their desired fertility. The objective of this study is to better understand couple’s reproductive decision-making processes in the Netherlands with specific attention to the role of gender, power and reproductive autonomy. Cultural schema theory (e.g. D'Andrade and Strauss 1992) and the dyadic partner-schema model (Wilde and Dozois 2019) are utilized to understand how couples jointly construct their reproductive decision-making process. Throughout this process, the couple interacts, communicates and negotiates their individual beliefs, experiences and desires in order to create shared reproductive reasoning and intentions. This process takes place over time in a specific context and is influenced, among other things, by power dynamics within the couple. These power dynamics can be expressed both verbally and nonverbally. Power dynamics and reproductive autonomy within couples can be shaped by gender but also by other socio-cultural norms and individual characteristics, such as level of education, income, age and religion. In autumn 2021, dyadic in-depth interviews are conducted to obtain couples’ reproductive decision-making processes and to observe couples’ dynamics during the interviews. Couples are purposively sampled for various characteristics, including same-sex couples and couples of which one partner has a physical disability. Data collection is planned to be finalized in 2021.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe