Defining Adulthood Without Parenthood: Childfreeness Among Women in Emerging Adulthood

Childfreeness is often examined through motivations or demographic trends, yet less is known about its meaning during emerging adulthood, a developmental period marked by exploration and identity consolidation. This qualitative study explores how childfree women in emerging adulthood make sense of their reproductive positioning. Twelve childfree women (aged 22–29, mean age = 26.3) from the Czech Republic participated in semi-structured interviews conducted between March and April 2024. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings suggest that childfreeness is not merely a preference or postponement of parenthood but a developmental positioning integrated into anticipated life trajectories. Participants articulated childfreeness early and framed it in relation to intensive motherhood norms, identity loss concerns, and social reorganisation. Rather than reflecting indecision, childfreeness functioned as a coherent stance toward adulthood. The study contributes to emerging adulthood scholarship by showing that childfreeness can function as a developmental positioning through which emerging adults define adulthood.