Temporary Childbirth Migration (TCM), where women return to their natal homes during or after pregnancy, is a common but understudied practice in India and South Asia. This study examines the influence of social support systems on TCM decisions among Indian women, focusing on the roles of husbands, in-laws, and parents. The study was conducted in the Vadu Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in Western Maharashtra, India, and involved 41 in-depth interviews with triads comprising women, their husbands, and mothers-in-law. Participants varied in age, education, occupation, marriage, migration type, and delivery method and included women with infants up to two years old. Data were analysed using rapid and traditional coding approaches with predefined and emergent codes. Findings were categorised under four key domains of social support: emotional, financial, instrumental, and informational. Emotional support from mothers fosters a stress-free environment; financial support from family influences location; instrumental support for household tasks differs across settings; and informational guidance from experienced family members guides expectant mothers. Healthcare access, household status, and the husband’s role also shape migration choices. Women prioritise proximity to medical facilities, comfort, and freedom in their natal homes. Decisions are typically inclusive, involving multiple family members. The study shows that social support, cultural norms, and practical needs influence TCM decisions, and further research is needed to support women’s choices during the perinatal period. In conclusion, recognising emotional, financial, informational, and instrumental support can help providers and policymakers improve maternal and child health outcomes.

In high-income countries, fertility is increasingly postponed into ages when fecundity declines, elevating the risk of unmet reproductive goals. In this context, how individuals perceive their own and their partner’s reproductive potential may carry important implications for well-being and relationship stability, long before clinical infertility is diagnosed. Drawing on 13 waves of longitudinal data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), this study uses individual fixed-effects models to examine how within-person changes in perceived fecundity – both one’s own and one’s partner’s – are related to life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and union dissolution. By capturing both individual and partner assessments, this approach emphasizes the couple as the key unit of reproductive experience. Declines in both own and partner’s perceived fecundity are associated with lower life and relationship satisfaction. However, perceptions of a partner’s fecundity exert a stronger influence on relationship outcomes than self-perceptions. In particular, decreases in partner-perceived fecundity increase the risk of separation, a pattern not observed for changes in one’s own fecundity. These associations do not vary significantly by gender but are moderated by parental status and age, with effects being weaker among parents and older individuals. By integrating both self- and partner assessments of fecundity, this study advances a dyadic, life course perspective on fertility. It shows that subjective reproductive potential functions as a relational stressor with meaningful consequences for emotional well-being and relationship trajectories.

The term ‘childfree’ differs from ‘childless’ not only as a distinction between a deliberate choice and a condition caused by circumstances, but it also indicates the ongoing efforts of childfree couples to prevent conception through contraception. The choice to remain childfree develops gradually, and for many, it is not decided at the outset. Thus, questions arise about the contraceptives that couples prefer and whether these preferences change as their decision to stay childfree becomes more certain. To explore this, a thematic analysis was conducted following joint interviews with thirty-six heterosexual childfree couples, eighteen each from India and Canada, to identify patterns in their experiences with choosing diverse modes of contraception. Distinctive birth control strategies emerged in the accounts of childfree couples from Canada and India. Among Canadian participants, it was discovered that they utilised a variety of contraceptives at different stages of their relationship, whereas most Indian participants preferred and relied on the male barrier method. The differences in the preferred methods of contraception, as well as the actually used contraception, highlighted the significance of how individual characteristics such as education, occupation, and income interact with cultural and institutional influence.