Journal of Women Interdisciplinary Researches

Abstract The declining tendency toward childbearing in recent decades has raised concerns among scholars in various fields across Iran. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and attitudes of employed women in South Tehran toward childbearing. Conducted using a qualitative method and a phenomenological approach, the research gathered data through in-depth interviews.The findings indicate that employed women’s attitudes toward childbearing have undergone significant changes due to recent social, cultural, and economic transformations. Participants no longer view childbearing as a traditional necessity, but rather as a decision dependent on personal, economic, professional, and lifestyle factors. Many cited concerns such as the inability to afford child-rearing expenses, difficulties in balancing motherhood with professional roles, and anxiety about their children’s future as key reasons for their reduced willingness to have children.Overall, the results suggest that the new understanding of motherhood and fertility among employed women has led them toward more conscious decision-making and, in some cases, avoidance of childbearing altogether. This shift in perspective may be considered one of the contributing factors to declining fertility rates in urban areas, particularly among working women.