Table 1 Overarching meta-themes and their connection to main themes and subthemes in the experience of childlessness

1. Negotiating Identity and Agency in a Pronatalist Society

Self, Identity, and Womanhood

- Internal conflict and resolution

- Childlessness as a personal choice vs. internalized pronatalism

- Motherhood and the perception of deficiency

Navigating the Social and Cultural Challenges of Childlessness

- Intrusions on personal choices

- Negotiation of childless identity

- Perceived loss of social status

- Workplace discrimination

2. The Emotional Landscape

of Childlessness

Emotional Reactions to Childlessness

- Contentment and certainty

- Tension and doubt

- Biological clock anxiety

- No regrets

Future Expectations, Plans, and Feelings

- Embracing independence and freedom

- Alternative strategies for elderly care

- Emotional and psychological concerns

3. Pathways and Motivations

for Remaining Childless

Pathways to Childlessness

- Perception of choice

- Personal independence

- Mental health protection

- Perception of motherhood as self-sacrifice

- Psychological and physical burdens of parenting

- Perceptions of pregnancy and motherhood

- Career and professional ambitions

- Relational and familial experiences

- Problematic family dynamics

- Cultural norms around monogamy and parenthood

- Gendered double standards

- Sociopolitical context

- Rejection of children as future investments