Table 2.
Reasons for delaying childbearing
| Females | Males | P valuec | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meana Score |
Percentb | Meana Score | Percentb | ||
| Does lack of time influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 77.5 | 88.9% | 74.0 | 75.5% | NS |
| Does lack of flexibility in schedule influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 78.4 | 84.9% | 75.6 | 71.4% | NS |
| Does financial strain influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 58.8 | 54.0% | 69.5 | 65.3% | 0.032 |
| Does lack of romantic partner influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 42.0 | 36.5% | 49.5 | 42.9% | NS |
| Does lack of support from colleague influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 36.2 | 31.0% | 23.7 | 10.2% | 0.004 |
| Does concern about burdening colleagues with extra work influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 37.2 | 31.0% | 21.0 | 6.1% | <.001 |
| Do reputational concerns (e.g., being perceived as less committed to career) influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 49.2 | 51.6% | 16.8 | 6.1% | <.001 |
| Does being not ready for children influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing? | 68.1 | 75.4% | 75.8 | 73.5% | NS |
(NS = P value not statistically significant)
aMean score on a sliding scale where response could range from 0 (“Not at all”) to 100 (“Extremely”)
bPercentage of participants who reported a response greater than “50” on the scale which was deemed an endorsement of the survey question
cP value refers to mean score