Study title

The study charted Finnish views on ideals and plans about having children. Main themes included starting a family, the ideal size of a family, pregnancy, obstacles faced in having children, personal partnership and desire to have a baby. The study was funded by the Family Federation of Finland, Alli Paasikivi Foundation and Suomen kotien kukkasrahasto foundation. The first set of questions focused on the personal partnerships of the participants, investigating, for example, satisfaction with the relationship and expectations for the relationship in the future. The respondents' childhood homes were studied with questions on, for example, happiness, conflicts, financial problems and support received from parents. Some questions focused on children, charting, for example, the housing arrangements of the children and whether the respondent and their spouse had children from previous relationships. Pregnancy was examined through questions relating to the most important reasons behind the decision to have a child, specifically the respondent's youngest child, (e.g. the desire to have a sibling for older children or a strong desire to have a baby) as well as any challenges and concerns faced when the child was born (e.g. financial circumstances, health of the parents or the baby). Ideal family size and the appriopriate age to become a parent or have the last child were surveyed. Next, the respondents were asked questions relating to pregnancy. Questions examined, for example, willingness and hope for pregnancy (either the respondent or their spouse) in the near future, reasons for not having a child and the perceived impacts having a baby would have on the respondents' lives (e.g. financial problems, less opportunities for work, positive impact on relationships and social life). Values and attitudes were also charted with questions focusing on, for example, the importance of work, family and hobbies in the respondents' lives and the feelings they had when interacting...